Ten American soldiers killed in Iraq

Ten U.S. soldiers were killed in a single day of fighting in Iraq, their headquarters said on Wednesday, amid a steep spike in military deaths during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

  In the bloodiest of Tuesday's incidents, four soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside booby-trap west of the Iraqi capital.

  A military statement said the four serving with Multinational Division Baghdad were killed at around 6:50 am (0350 GMT).

  Meanwhile, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on Wednesday denied his violence-battered country was in the throes of civil war, insisting however that reconciliation was a must to end the bloodshed.

  "I don't think that what is happening now in Iraq is civil war," Hashemi said at a joint press conference in Amman with Jordanian Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit.

  "There is bloodshed and sectarian tensions and innocent people are being killed but we are not in a civil war," Hashemi said before heading into talks with King Abdullah II.