Roadside bomb kills Minneapolis soldier

On patrol
A combat escort patrol in Iraq.
Photo by SFC Clinton Wood, 1/34 BCT Public Affairs

(AP) - An Army specialist from Minneapolis was among four soldiers killed when a bomb exploded while they were on a foot patrol in Iraq.

Spc. Qixing Lee, 20, died Sunday afternoon in the attack in Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad, the Department of Defense reported Friday.

Lee was part of the 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas.

Lee's father, Chedrua Yanlecheuyin of Minneapolis, himself fought in Laos as part of Hmong resistance against communist forces in southeast Asia in the Vietnam era. He said he tried to instill a sense of responsibility in his children.

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"No matter where you are, you have the duty, the responsibility to serve the country you are in," Yanlecheuyin said. "I always told them that."

Lee, one of six children in the family, graduated from North High School in 2004 and enlisted in the Army shortly afterward, his sisters said.

"He's a very kind person," his 21-year-old sister, Xiaomei Lee, said. "He's open-minded and very lovable."

Lee's father said he was sent to Iraq in March and was due back home in October.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)