Five US soldiers were killed and five wounded yesterday in a blast in east Baghdad as the number of soldiers killed in action in Iraq hit at least 600, the US military said. The 10 were members of Task Force Baghdad, which is made up primarily of the Texas-based 1st Cavalry Division, said Army Lt Col James Hutton, the division spokesman. The vehicles came under attack on Palestine Street near the district of Sadr City. Meanwhile, Shi'ite militia and US troops took a step back from the brink by agreeing to a ceasefire after two months of bloodshed. An official from Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army said its fighters had been withdrawn as the US military said it agreed to pull back from some positions in the twin pilgrimage cities. "We have withdrawn our fighters from the streets of Kufa and Najaf," militia official Abu Jafaar said. Iraqi police started to patrol Najaf as part of the truce framework and no armed militiamen could be seen on the streets, said a witness. "The government of Najaf has made an announcement that the Iraqi police will deploy in and around the sensitive areas around the holy shrines," US Army Captain Douglas Duecker said. "The coalition forces will pull back and take care of the areas outside the holy sites within Najaf and Kufa," he added. The US-led coalition has been keen to quell the rebellion among the Shi'ite majority as the clock ticks to a June 30 deadline for the return of sovereignty to Iraqis. Sadr's uprising has instilled cracks in the majority community and in Najaf, Sadr supporters heckled a rival cleric who has been critical of the young rebel, forcing him to cut short his weekly Friday sermon. **PHOTO CAPTION*** U.S. Army troops lie on the ground near a burning Humvee vehicle following an attack in Baghdad, June 4, 2004. (REUTERS)