Six U.S. soldiers die in Iraq

Four U.S. soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Wednesday during fighting northeast of Baghdad, the military said. 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 injuries sustained after explosions near their vehicles, while a fourth died later at a military medical facility. A U.S. soldier also died Wednesday after coming under small arms fire from insurgents while on patrol north of Baghdad, the military said.

The Multi-National Division — Baghdad Soldier died of wounds sustained the day before when the combat patrol was ambushed while providing security after discovering a roadside bomb, according to a statement. Soldiers from the unit successfully located and disposed of the roadside bomb and found a small cache, adding to the seven improvised explosive devices and four caches found earlier this month, it added. 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.