One officer was killed and his driver wounded when their vehicle came under mortar fire from an Iraqi position outside Saddam International Airport.

And an engineer platoon sergeant was shot and killed by "an enemy infiltration attempt" on the periphery of the complex, said Colonel Will Grimsley, commander of the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade.

Another US soldier was killed on Thursday alongside a Washington Post journalist when their Humvee all-terrain vehicle plunged into a canal while evading Iraqi fire on the approach to Baghdad's main airport, Grimsley added.

US troops at the scene made unsuccesful attempts to revive the victims of the Humvee accident, the commander said.

The Washington Post said earlier Friday that its editorial columnist Michael Kelly was killed in a Humvee accident with the 3rd Infantry Division.

The names of the dead US soldiers were not released.

The US seized control of Baghdad's main airport on Friday after mortar and small arms duels with Iraqi forces. Iraq has threatened to drive them out with "martyrdom" and other unconventional attacks.

No official word was given on the number of Iraqi casualties in the airport battle although at least dozens were thought to have been killed.

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