Four U.S. soldiers were killed and two others were wounded today during fighting northeast of Baghdad, the military said. Two other U.S. deaths were reported elsewhere.
The Task Force Lightning soldiers were attacked while conducting combat operations in Diyala province, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have been battling insurgents for months.
Three of the soldiers died from wounds sustained after explosions near their vehicles, while a fourth died later at a military medical facility,- Chron reported.
Separately, another U.S. soldier died today a day after coming under small arms fire from insurgents while on patrol north of Baghdad, the military said. The soldier died of wounds from the attack, which took place the combat patrol was ambushed after it discovered a roadside bomb, according to a statement.
Soldiers from the unit successfully located and disposed of the bomb and found a small cache, adding to the seven improvised explosive devices and four caches found earlier this month, according to the statement.
On Tuesday, a Task Force Lightning soldier died in a non-combat related incident, which is under investigation, the military said in a separate statement.
The soldiers' names were not released pending notification of relatives.
At least 3,132 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
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