Two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday, bringing the number of American combat deaths to 179, 32 more than were killed during the first Gulf war.

One soldier was killed in action on Thursday near the Iraqi town of al Hilla, 34 miles south of Baghdad in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force operating area,  said Spc. Margo Doers.

The military said the soldier in the Marines' zone had been killed on Thursday but had no more information. The Marines are responsible for a mainly Shi'ite Muslim area south of the capital which includes the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala.

Sixty-five U.S. soldiers have been killed since President Bush declared an end to formal combat on May 1.

U.S. officers say loyalists of ousted President Saddam Hussein and some foreign Muslim militants are behind the wave of attacks on occupying troops in Iraq.

The soldier killed in the fire was pronounced dead late on Thursday afternoon from burns and smoke inhalation, a military spokesman said. He was from the army's 1st Armored Division.

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