"Two US Division-North soldiers were killed and six injured after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their combined patrol today," it said.

Iraqi security officials earlier said four people were killed in the attack on a joint American-Iraqi patrol in Jalawla, northeast of the capital Baghdad, in Diyala province.

The incident occurred at around 11:00 am (0800 GMT) and also wounded 26 people, said an official from Diyala security command.

Dr Abdul Razzaq Ahmed of Jalawla hospital also said four people were killed and added that women and children were among the wounded.

Friday's incident raised to 4,405 the toll of US military deaths since the 2003 invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

Meanwhile, in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, three members of an anti-Al-Qaeda militia were killed when a grenade exploded near their checkpoint, local police said.

And in the south Baghdad neighbourhood of Dora, two people were killed and nine others wounded by a roadside bomb near a market, according to a police officer.

Friday's unrest comes after March parliamentary elections, which have still not resulted in a new government, and ahead of parliament convening on Monday for the first time since the polls.

US and Iraqi security officials have warned that a long period of coalition formation could give insurgent groups an opportunity to further destabilise the country.

Government figures showed that 337 people were killed in violence in May, the fourth time this year that the overall death toll has been higher when compared with the same month of 2009.

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