At least one U.S. soldier was killed and two others were wounded today when a powerful explosion went off as their convoy made its way along a highway west of Baghdad, soldiers at the scene said. The explosion occurred at about 9 a.m. as a 20-vehicle military convoy was passing a wrecked car that had been abandoned alongside the road, said Spc. Jose Colon. The soldier that died was blown out of a truck that was nearest to the blast, Colon said. Soldiers believe a bomb was hidden in the car wreckage. "We were just driving along when the explosion hit," Colon said. "It was very big." Soldiers said the victim had recently arrived in Iraq. "We just lost one of our buddies. It could have been any of us," said Spc. Adalberto Bonilla, who along with Colon had been in a vehicle behind the most badly damaged truck when the blast went off near Abu Ghraib. Both he and Colon were unharmed. Spc. Carlos McKenzie said the supply convoy, which was on its way to a U.S. base in the desert near Iraq's border with Jordan, did not have enough protection from more heavily armed units. "We need more protection. We've seen enough. We've stayed in Iraq long enough," he said. About a half hour after the attack, the truck that absorbed the brunt of the blast's force was still burning. U.S. soldiers sealed off the road. A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said he had no information about the incident. Also Wednesday, a U.S. Marine died in the southern city of Hilla when he fell off a building he was guarding. The soldier was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries. **Chirac Says: No French Troops to Iraq*** The French president Jacques Chirac, speaking on Tuesday for the first time about the possibility of France sending troops to Iraq, reiterated his country's position that this was not on the cards. France spearheaded international opposition to the US-led war on Iraq and has called for a stronger role for the United Nations in leading reconstruction efforts and helping to form an interim Iraqi government. Chirac's spokeswoman said he made the comments in a meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus. "As the foreign minister has indicated, this is inconceivable in the current framework," spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said, referring to a hypothetical French military role in Iraq. American senators have encouraged U.S. president Bush to request troops from NATO and the United Nations to back US operations in Iraq. At least 33 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Bush declared major combat over on May 1. **PHOTO CAPTION*** The feet of a dead US soldier are seen pocking out from under his covered body as two US soldiers watch over it, following an explosion along the highway west of Baghdad. (AFP/Marwan Naamani)