Baghdad, 5 Nov. (AKI) - Two American soldiers have been killed in Iraq in separate incidents, the US army said on Thursday. Both soldiers died on Wednesday, one in a combat incident and the other of non-combat-related injuries, the military said in a statement without giving any further details. Both deaths are under investigation and the names of the deceased were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, the statement added.

The two soldiers were assigned to Task Force Lightning, which is responsible for an area including the cities of Balad, Tikrit and Samarra in Salahudin province, north of the capital Baghdad, along with the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul.

Approximately 4,359 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion and occupation.

Also on Thursday, a senior Iraqi police officer, Colonel Adnan Khero, survived an assassination attempt in Kirkuk, the Voices of Iraq news agency cited an unnamed local security source as saying.

The explosion damaged Khero's vehicle, the source told VOI. Kirkuk is located 250 kilometres northeast of Baghdad.