Bomb kills three U.S. soldiers in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers were killed and six wounded on Tuesday when a roadside bomb detonated near their patrol in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

The attack raised the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq to 77 for the month of July.

July was still the least deadly month since last November, a fact the military has welcomed as a sign that its new strategy of building up troops this year was having the desired effect.

The military said the bomb, in the eastern section of the capital, was an "explosively formed penetrator," a particularly deadly type of armor-piercing device.

Washington and U.S. commanders in Iraq have accused Iran of supplying militias in Iraq with such weapons. Iran denies the accusation.