At least one US soldier was killed and 34 were wounded in a mortar strike on a military base west of Baghdad, a military spokesman said. "One soldier was killed and 34 wounded," the spokesman said. About six mortar shells struck the Logistical Base Seitz, located northwest of Baghdad, in the attack at 6:45 pm, the military said. The toll had earlier been put at 35 wounded, with some of the soldiers listed as seriously injured. The attack came as civilian administrator Paul Bremer announced the imminent release of 100 Iraqi prisoners in a bid to promote reconciliation ahead of a handover of power in six months. In announcing the prisoner release, Bremer made clear that more of them were to follow. A coalition spokesman later said on condition of anonymity that 506 prisoners were slated to be let out in the coming weeks. According to coalition figures, 9,300 security detainees are being held in the US-run detention centers. That does not include 3,800 detained members of the Iranian armed opposition People's Mujahedeen, which enjoyed Saddam's patronage. The thousands of Iraqi detainees have been a sore point for the US-run occupation, with the unexplained disappearances of relatives symbolizing the helplessness of many in the post-Saddam era. The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority is due to pass on the reins to a provisional Iraqi government by the end of June. Despite the optimism, fighting raged on, with five Iraqis killed over the past 24 hours. Attackers raked a checkpoint with bullets Wednesday, killing a policeman and a civilian near the northern city of Kirkuk. A firefight between US forces and freedom fighters in the restive town of Fallujah left an Iraqi couple dead, Iraqi police and witnesses said, although the US military was unable to confirm the accounts. In other developments, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende paid a surprise visit to Dutch troops stationed in Iraq. **PHOTO CAPTION*** U.S. Army snipers sit on their humvee as they leave the military base in Tikrit , Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)