Two U.S. soldiers die in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military on Friday reported the deaths of two U.S. soldiers in northern Iraq.

One soldier, from Task Force Lightning, was killed Thursday in Diyala province when an explosion occurred near his vehicle, the military said. A second soldier was wounded.

Another Task Force Lightning soldier also died Thursday in a noncombat-related incident in Tameem province, where Kirkuk is located.

The number of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war stands at 3,794, including seven civilian employees of the Defense Department. The death toll for September is 52.

Meanwhile, U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq on Friday killed one person described as a terrorist and detained eight terrorist suspects during operations that targeted insurgents from al Qaeda in Iraq, the military reported.

The raids took place in the Baghdad area, northeast of Ramadi and southeast of Balad.

The death occurred in the Arab Jabour area south of Baghdad. Troops detained a suspected leader of al Qaeda in Iraq linked to a car bombing network, according to the military statement.

"During the course of operations, an armed terrorist maneuvered toward security elements. Using appropriate self-defense measures, coalition forces killed the armed terrorist," the military said. E-mail to a friend

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