Three American troops killed in Iraq

Two US Marines were killed in action in Iraq’s western Anbar province, and a soldier died near the restive northern city of Mosul, the US military said today.

The two Marines who died yesterday belonged to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, a military statement said. It gave no further details. Anbar province is home to the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, which have scene frequent clashes between US forces and insurgents.

A 1st Infantry Division soldier also died yesterday while supporting Task Force Olympia operations near Mosul, the military said. Mosul has also seen increased violence since insurgents that were headquartered in Fallujah were driven out of that city in November’s US assault.

The deaths brought to 1,359 the number of American troops killed in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003.