A Georgian soldier was killed on a combat mission in Iraq on June 4, the Georgian Ministry of Defense said on Thursday.

Squad commander Irakli Kordzaia, 28, was killed when a checkpoint in the province of Diyala came under repeat fire, Giga Tatishvili, deputy chief of staff of the Georgian army, said.

This is the third combat fatality among Georgian servicemen in Iraq. Two Georgian servicemen were killed in May when their vehicle hit a road-side bomb in the Diyala province.

According to the Georgian Ministry of Defense one Georgian serviceman died in a car accident in Al Kut in December 2007. Another serviceman, according to the MoD, committed suicide last October.

At least 19 Georgian servicemen have been injured in Iraq since the first deployment in August 2003.