FORT LEWIS, Wash. (AP) - A soldier who grew up in western Iowa was among three troops killed in a bombing in Iraq over the weekend.

Cpl. Llythaniele Fender, 21, died Sunday in Karbala of wounds suffered from the explosion, the Defense Department said.

Fender is a 2004 graduate of West Monona High School in Onawa, Iowa, who moved to Medical Lake soon after getting his diploma.

He was assigned to Battery B of the 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Lewis.

"He was a wonderful son and brother with a huge heart who served his country with great pride," Fender's mother, Ellen Fender, said in a statement.

"We send our hearts out to the men and women who have served and are serving this great country, both stateside and overseas."

Cpl. Fender attended elementary school at West Monona, then left for a few years, before moving back to complete high school in Onawa. He enlisted in the Army on Oct. 7, 2004, and completed initial entry training at Fort Sill, Okla.

He was stationed in Korea in March 2005 before leaving for Iraq last February.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

The other victims of the explosion included Cpl. Meresebang Ngiraked, 21, of Koror, Republic of Palau, and Spc. Adam G. Herold, 23, of Omaha, Neb.

Ngiraked was part of Fender's unit. Herold was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment with the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

The three deaths were reported the same day Fort Lewis conducted a memorial service for three soldiers with the post's 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who were killed in the past two weeks.