For the first time since Poland joined the multi-national force in Iraq, a Polish soldier has been killed in action. Another American soldier was also killed in a separate incident.
The Polish officer was killed Thursday, 50 kilometers south of Baghdad. His convoy was attacked as it was returning to the Polish headquarters in Babylon.
The Polish Defense Ministry said the army major was shot during the attack, and later died of his wounds.
It was the first combat fatality for Poland, since it took charge of a 23-nation multinational force in September. The force is responsible for south-central Iraq, and comprises about 10,000 troops, most of them Polish.
Also Thursday, the U.S. military reported an American soldier was killed near Iraq's border with Syria. The military says the soldier was killed when his vehicle hit a landmine while on patrol.
Late Wednesday, a U.S. soldier was killed, and two others were wounded in an attack south of Baghdad.