FEMALE SOLDIER K.I.A. IN IRAQ

Baghdad - The U.S. military said Saturday that a female soldier died Thursday in a roadside bomb attack on her patrol south of Baghdad, the 90th American servicewoman killed since the invasion. Servicewomen are not assigned to offensive missions in Iraq, but they often participate in raids, patrols and other active duty in a variety of roles, such as flying helicopters or dealing with Iraqi woman during U.S. missions. Because of that, fatalities among servicewoman have been relatively rare, constituting fewer than 3% of military deaths among the U.S.- Led coalition forces, according to the website icasualities.org. which tracks fatalities in the Iraq war. Still women have seen more combat during the Iraq war than in any previous U.S. engagements and causes of deaths are largely the same as those of their male counterparts, including roadside bombs, motor attacks, suicide bombings and the downing of helicopters. The soldier killed Thursday was identified as 2nd Lt. Tracy Alder, 30 of New Aburn,Wis. according to an associated Press report quoting the soldiers mother, U.S. officials did not confirm the name of the soldier Saturday.