At least three US marines have been killed in combat south of Baghdad, the US military says.

"Three US marines were killed in action and two others wounded on 31 January while conducting security and stability operations in northern Babil province," the statement said on Monday.

The latest deaths marked the first fatalities reported by the US military since poll centres closed in Iraq's elections on Sunday.

The deaths raised the overall toll for US soldiers killed in Iraq to 1435 since the US-led invasion of March 2003, according to Pentagon figures.

Separately, a US military base in the former presidential complex in Mosul came under heavy mortar attack, Aljazeera learned. Columns of smoke were seen rising over the base.

PHOTO CAPTION

Soldiers from the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division stop to pray at the road connecting Baghdad and Baquba, January 30, 2005. (Reuters)