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BAGHDAD, May 12 (Reuters) - A team of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi army interpreter were attacked south of Baghdad on Saturday and five soldiers were killed while three others went missing, the U.S. military said.

The attack took place near the town of Mahmudiya, a rural area south of the capital that is a stronghold of al Qaeda militants.

"This morning at 4:44 a.m. (0044 GMT) in Iraq, a coalition force team of eight soldiers (seven Americans and an Iraqi army interpreter), were attacked 12 miles west of Mahmudiya. As a result of this attack, five soldiers were killed in action and three are currently missing," a U.S. military statement said.

U.S. spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said it was not immediately clear if the Iraqi army translator was among the dead or missing.

"Coalition forces are currently using every means at our disposal to find the missing Soldiers, and we will continue these efforts until all are accounted for," the statement quoted Major-General William Caldwell, chief military spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, as saying.

Caldwell said a rapid-reaction force was dispatched to the area one hour after hearing an explosion.

"The quick reaction force reported finding five members of the team killed in action and three others whose duty status and whereabouts are unknown," Caldwell said.

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