A US soldier was killed and another wounded when their vehicle struck a landmine near the central Iraqi town of Baiji. "The Bradley (vehicle) struck a landmine. It could have been put there minutes before or hours before," a US military spokesman said on Monday. Baiji is about 220km northwest of Baghdad. The attack on Sunday night brought to 95 the number of US soldiers killed in action in Iraq since President George Bush declared major combat over on 1 May. Many more have died in incidents the US calls non-combat related. **Iraqi deaths*** Meanwhile, one Iraqi was killed and three others wounded on Monday in a firefight with US forces near the town of Baquba. The shootout occurred after US troops arrested 20 people during a house-to-house search in the village of Zagania, said police officer, Taha Abd al-Qadir. He said the Americans removed the body of the man killed in the firefight. The officer also said a policeman was among the three wounded. Situated in the Diyala province, 65km northeast of Baghdad, Baquba is the site of frequent attacks on US troops occupying Iraq. **Assassination attempt*** In a separate incident, the governor of Iraq's Diyala province, Dr Abd Allah al-Jaburi, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on Monday. A roadside bomb exploded, seriously wounding two policemen and lightly injuring a civilian, a local police officer said. US forces also arrested the imam of the Great Mosque of Falluja, another flashpoint town in central Iraq. Military officials said they detained 61-year-old Shaikh Jamal Nizzal after a search overnight on Monday of the mosque premises. A neighbour told AFP that four students of the shaikh were also arrested in the search. Nizzal has frequently urged his flock not to cooperate with US-led occupation forces. **Car bomb attack*** The deaths came after a twin-car bomb attack on Sunday, aimed at a hotel used by US officials in central Baghdad killed six Iraqis and wounded dozens. The attacks dealt a further blow to Bush, who is trying to bolster support for his invasion of Iraq by highlighting postwar successes. Polls show his popularity plummeting as the cost of the war in lives and money mounts. Washington is pushing for a new UN Security Council resolution, giving the United Nations a broader mandate to try to persuade reluctant countries to help in stabilising Iraq. **PHOTO CAPTION*** U.S. soldiers based in Europe wait for their flight in a tent on Rhein-Main Airbase in Frankfurt, central Germany, early Monday, Oct. 13, 2003. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)