BAGHDAD: Three US troops have been killed by roadside bomb attacks around the Iraqi capital, the US military announced on Thursday.   

Two soldiers died and another was wounded southwest of Baghdad on Wednesday during a security patrol on a well-travelled route, the military said.   

Another soldier was killed and two more were wounded in an eastern section of Baghdad on Wednesday when a similar bomb exploded, said a separate statement.   

The latest deaths bring the number of US fatalities in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 2,982, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.   

In December alone, at least 99 military personnel have died.