52nd Iowa soldier killed in Iraq

Iowa soldier killed in Iraq

Enlarge This Photo Army Pfc. Katie Soenksen

Associated Press

DES MOINES - A 19-year-old Davenport woman was killed in an explosion in Iraq, family members said Thursday.

U.S. Army Pfc. Katie Soenksen, a 2005 graduate of Davenport North High School, was conducting a security mission in Baghdad when her convoy was attacked, said her father, Ronald Soenksen.

Katie Soenksen is the third Iowa woman to die in Iraq and the second Iowa soldier to die in Baghdad in the last five days. Army Pfc. Brian Botello, 19, of Alta, was killed in combat on Saturday.

Katie Soenksen's father said she arrived in Iraq last summer and was due back home in June. She was part of the 410 Military Police based in Fort Hood, Texas, he said.

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