The killing of a US soldier and the sabotage of another oil pipeline in Iraq were new setbacks to efforts to rebuild the country's economy being promoted at an international forum in neighbouring Jordan. Iraq without government, began exporting its first crude oil since the US-led invasion of the country, with tankers loading at the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, the Anatolia news agency reported. One US soldier was killed and another wounded in a grenade attack south of Baghdad, the US military said. "One soldier was killed and one injured in a grenade attack on a military convoy south of Baghdad in Khan Azaz," around 20 kilometres (13 miles) south of the capital, a statement said. "The two soldiers were medically evacuated by ground ambulance," it said, adding that "one soldier was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital." The latest death brings to 53 the number of US troops killed since Bush declared the war in Iraq effectively over on May 1, according to a US military statements. A second explosion in 10 days that ripped through an oil pipeline northwest of Baghdad will affect power production at Baghdad's major electrical plant, said the head of the refinery supplying the power station. The blast occurred near Hit, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) northwest of Baghdad. The pipeline links Iraq's southern oil fields to Baghdad's main Dura oil refinery. The oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey, the main export route from the country's northern fields, was damaged earlier this month in what officials said was an effort to sabotage the country's return to the oil market. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Fire rages along a damaged gas pipeline close to the town of Hit, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) northwest of Baghdad(AFP/Cris Bouroncle)