Three US soldiers were wounded when insurgents pounded their patrol base near the restive city of Samarra, the US military said in a statement on Monday.

"Three 1st Infantry Division Soldiers were wounded when anti-Iraqi forces fired mortars into their patrol base near Samarra about 1:15 p.m. (1015 GMT) on Jan. 23," the statement said.

The victims were evacuated to Multi-National Forces medical facilities, it said, adding that two soldiers were in stable condition but the third was in serious condition and was being evacuated to a medical center in Germany.

Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, is part of the so-called Sunni triangle and has been a hotspot for insurgents who fight the US-led forces and Iraqi security forces.