The U.S. military says 11 American soldiers were killed Wednesday in separate incidents in Iraq.

A military statement issued Thursday, said five soldiers died when their vehicle was hit by an explosion in northern Kirkuk province. It said the soldiers were conducting combat operations but gave few other details.

The statement said one soldier was shot while operating a machine gun at an outpost in Ramadi, the capital of the volatile al-Anbar province, west of Baghdad. The military released no further details about how the other troops died.

In Thursday violence, Iraqi officials say at least seven Iraqis were killed in a series of bombings and shootings.

On Wednesday, about 70 Iraqis were killed or found dead - most of them in Baghdad - in continuing sectarian violence.

And, the U.S. military said Iraq's government released the names and photos of several suspected senior-level members of the Ansar al Sunna terrorist group who were captured by coalition forces last month.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.