A soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, died Wednesday of wounds sustained due to "enemy action" while operating in the western Anbar province, the military said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua.

Also on Wednesday, another soldier, assigned to 16th Military Brigade, was killed when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Balad, a city north of Baghdad, the military said in a separate statement.

In addition, a marine, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7, died Thursday from "enemy action" while operating in Anbar province, the military said.

The latest deaths were part of a surge in US fatalities in October, bringing to about 2,780 the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.