Another US soldier has been killed in Iraq.

"A Multi-National Division South soldier was killed in action," according to a US Army statement issued on Sunday. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.

The latest casualty brings the death toll for US troops in Iraq to nine for the month of November and 145 so far this year.

The US military has lost a total of 4,683 soldiers since the war began in March 2003.

A total of 314 US troops lost their lives in 2008. The preceding year, 2007, nonetheless remains the deadliest year the US military has seen in Iraq, with a death toll of 904.

The United States sustained a loss of 822 servicemen in 2006 plus 846 in 2005. Some 849 soldiers were killed in 2004, and 486 lost their lives in 2003.

More than one million Iraqis have died because of the war, according to data compiled by the London-based Opinion Research Business (ORB) and its research partner in Iraq, the Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society Studies (IIACSS).

Moreover, a fifth of Iraqi households have lost at least one family member due to the conflict. The United Nations estimates the number of displaced people at more than four million, nearly half of whom have fled to neighboring countries, particularly Syria.

MP/SS/HGL