Two U.S. soldiers and a Marine were killed in western Iraq, the military said Tuesday.

A Marine with the 2nd Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force was killed by a roadside bomb Monday in the town of Karabilah, near the Syrian border, the first announced U.S. death in Operation Iron Fist, a major sweep of the area that began over the weekend.

A soldier assigned to 2nd Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed by a roadside bomb Monday while conducting combat operations in Haqlaniyah, the military said.

The II Marine Expeditionary Force is based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Haqlaniyah is one of three towns west of Baghdad where U.S. forces launched a second major offensive early Tuesday. A large U.S. military operation began Tuesday morning in Haqlaniyah and two nearby cities.

A 56th Brigade Combat Team soldier was shot Monday morning near Taqaddum, a town close to the city of Fallujah and about 40 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. It said it was investigating the shooting.

The names of the U.S service members were being withheld pending notification of relatives.

The attacks raised to at least 1,939 the number of U.S. military members who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to a count by The Associated Press.