BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- April has been the deadliest month for American forces in Iraq this year.

The U-S military says an American soldier was killed in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad Thursday evening.

The latest American death brings the number of U-S troops who have died this month in Iraq to at least 69.

Although that figure is well below some of the bloodiest months of the Iraq conflict, it marks a sharp increase over March, when 31 American service members were killed.

January's death toll stood at 62 and February's at 55.

Reasons behind the rising U-S deaths are unclear. Meanwhile, American troops, acting on tips from Iraqi intelligence, killed the reputed al-Qaida boss of Samarra, where a Shiite shrine bombing two months ago nearly plunged the country into civil war.