A Kentucky soldier is killed in Iraq. The Army says Sgt. John Cooper of Ewing died in a bomb attack after his patrol was ambushed Monday. Cooper is the first Fleming County Soldier to die in the War in Iraq.

Cooper was based out of Fort Bliss in Texas. Three other soldiers in his unit also died.

Army officials identified the other three as 2nd Lt. Mark J. Daily, 23, of Irvine, Calif.; Sgt. Ian C. Anderson, 22, of Prairie Village, Kan. and Spc. Matthew T. Grimm, 21, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

The members of the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division died Monday when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle, officials said.

In 2003, 11 troops from the 507th Maintenance Co. at Fort Bliss were killed during the initial invasion. The ambush involved 31 soldiers who made a wrong turn into Nasiriyah, at the time a staging area for an Iraqi resistance group.

Six soldiers, including Lynch, were captured. The dramatic nighttime rescue of Lynch from a hospital days later made her an instant celebrity. A group of Marines rescued the other five POWs.

The cavalry brigade has suffered five casualties since deploying in late October. The soldiers are expected to be in the war zone about a year.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)