Official figures showed Friday that June, the bloodiest month in three years for US troops in Iraq, was also the deadliest month so far this year for Iraqis killed in violence.

A total of 271 Iraqis -- 155 civilians, 77 policemen and 39 soldiers -- died in attacks last month, data compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries showed.

June's toll for Iraqis was 34 percent higher than May, when 177 people were killed -- the lowest number this year.

Last month's toll was the highest monthly figure for the number of Iraqis killed since September, when 273 died. The previous high for this year was January, when 259 perished.

A further 454 people were wounded in June, including 192 civilians, 77 policemen and 39 soldiers. The majority were killed or wounded by car bombs, improvised explosives or shootings.

The worst attack was a June 21 double car bombing outside the governor's home in the central city of Diwaniyah which killed 26 people, most of them policemen guarding the official, who escaped unharmed.

June's figures showed 25 insurgents were killed and 102 arrested.

Three American soldiers were killed in action in southern Iraq on Wednesday, the US military said, making it the deadliest month its troops in the country over the past three years.

The overall number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion is 4,469, according to an AFP count based on the independent website, www.icasualties.org.

Also last month, an American contractor with USAID was killed and another wounded by an improvised bomb next to their armoured vehicle in Baghdad.

Nearly 50,000 American troops are still in Iraq, down from a peak of more than 170,000 after the invasion.

All US forces are scheduled to depart by the end of this year according to a 2008 agreement.

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