Baghdad - Two bombs ripped through two army vehicles in Iraq's Diyala province on Thursday, killing six Iraqi soldiers and injuring three, the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported.

The bombs hit the cars in the town of Jalawla, some 57 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Although security forces have secured most of Iraq's 18 provinces, Baghdad and Diyala remain a challenge.

Meanwhile, US forces in Iraq said on Thursday that a US soldier, who was shot in northern Iraq on Tuesday, was the second soldier killed since the beginning of the year. (dpa)