BAGHDAD, Jan 3: Three US soldiers were killed and five wounded in separate attacks in Iraq on Friday, the US military said on Saturday. In the first incident, two soldiers were killed and three sustained injuries in a home-made bomb attack south of Baghdad.

The attack took place when a patrol hit the device, said a spokesman.

A third soldier was killed and two wounded in a mortar attack on a US base in the town of Balad, 75 kilometres north of Baghdad, according to Robert Cargie, a spokesman for the Fourth Infantry Division.

Robert Cargie said the soldier was killed by shrapnel when the projectile hit the base. He said US troops had detained six suspects in vehicle searches after the attack, adding that the wounded were in a stable condition.

The latest deaths bring to 215 the number of US combat casualties since President George Bush declared an end to hostilities in Iraq on May 1. -AFP