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3 U.S. troops killed in Iraq

By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: U.S. says Iraqi soldier was shot dead after opening fire on U.S. troops
  • Two U.S. troops were killed in the attack, military says
  • Another was slain in the central part of the country

Baghdad (CNN) -- Three U.S. troops were killed Saturday in Iraq, including two who were slain by at least one Iraqi soldier in the northern city of Mosul.

The U.S. military said an Iraqi soldier shot and killed two service members and wounded another at the Ghazlani Training Center during a training event conducted by American forces.

The Iraqi soldier was killed during the attack, the military said.

Earlier, an Iraq Interior Ministry official offered different details about the incident. The official said two Iraqi soldiers carried out the attack on military trainers and then were detained.

In another incident, the U.S. military said an American service member was killed while conducting operations in the central region of the country.

The last American deaths occurred on January 2, when two U.S. service members died in Taji after insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

In September, an Iraqi soldier opened fire on a group of U.S. soldiers near Tuz in northern Iraq, killing two and wounding nine others. That shooting occurred inside an Iraqi army commando compound, and the attacker was shot and killed.

U.S. troop deaths in Iraq have dropped greatly in recent years as many American forces have departed the country and local security forces have led the effort to thwart violence in Iraq. There are more than 650,000 uniformed Iraqi personnel -- army and police -- in Iraq, according to the International Crisis Group.

The United States still has 48,000 troops in Iraq who work in an advisory and training capacity compared to the 144,000 service members stationed there when President Barack Obama took office.

A 2008 agreement mandates the withdrawal of all U.S. forces by the end of the year.

On Thursday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden focused on the future of U.S.-Iraqi relations in his first talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki since a new Iraqi government was formed last month.

During Biden's trip, four bombs around the Iraqi capital killed at least two people and wounded 14 others.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.