The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Jamie L. Huggins, 26, of Hume, Mo., was killed in action on Oct. 26 in Baghdad, Iraq. Huggins was on patrol when his vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device. Huggins was assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Sgt. Aubrey D. Bell, 33, of Tuskegee, Ala., was killed in action on Oct. 27 in Baghdad, Iraq. Bell was at the Al Bayra Police Station when his unit came under small arms fire and an improvised explosive device detonated at his location. Bell was assigned to the 214th Military Police Company, Alabama National Guard.

These incidents are under investigation.