Northern California soldier first killed in Iraq after President announces withdrawal

A soldier from Northern California has become the first U.S. military personnel reported killed in Iraq since President Obama's announcement that all troops will leave that country by Jan. 1.

Pfc. Steven Shapiro, 29, of Hidden Valley Lake in Lake County, died Friday in Tallil, Iraq, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The cause of death was not announced.

Shapiro was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Since March 2003, 4,481 U.S. personnel have been killed in Iraq and 32,200 wounded, according to www.icasualties.org.  Fort Hood has had more killed, 509, in Iraq than any other U.S. military base. Camp Pendleton is second, with 345.

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California's War Dead database

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Pfc Steven Shapiro. Credit: U.S. Army