BAGHDAD, Iraq — A roadside bomb killed three U.S. soldiers south of Baghdad today, and coalition forces shot to death three insurgents in Samarra — the site of the bombing of a Shiite shrine in February that set off a wave of sectarian killings in Iraq.

The U.S. command provided few details about the roadside bomb that killed three U.S. soldiers in Babil province south of Baghdad.

But Babil Police Capt. Muthana Khalid said the explosion heavily damaged a Humvee in a U.S. military convoy at 11:30 a.m. about 35 miles south of Baghdad. He said two American soldiers were immediately killed and one was seriously wounded and evacuated for medical treatment.

The attack raised to at least 2,414 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.