Topeka ? Two soldiers with ties to Kansas were killed Sunday in Iraq in separate incidents, the Army announced Tuesday.

One of the soldiers, Sgt. Benjamin C. Morton, 24, of Wright, died when his patrol met small arms fire in Mosul. Morton, a native of Kansas, is the 18th Kansan to die in Iraq.

The second soldier was from Fort Riley. Sgt. Kenneth J. Schall, 22, of Peoria, Ariz., died Sunday in a motor vehicle accident.

Morton was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Lewis, Wash. A memorial service is scheduled Thursday at Fort Lewis.

He is survived by his wife of University Place, Wash., and his parents of Wright. Morton joined the Army in July 2000 and arrived at Fort Lewis in May 2002 after a tour in Korea.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius learned of the news while traveling.

“The governor is greatly saddened by the additional death of these Kansas soldiers,” said spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran. “Her thoughts and prayers are with their friends and families during this difficult time.”

Schall was an armor crewman with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored, 3rd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division. He had been stationed at Fort Riley since November 2003. Schall served a three-month tour in Iraq with his unit, returning in March 2004, and redeployed with the brigade in February 2005.

He is survived by his parents, who live in Arizona. Schall is the 52nd Fort Riley soldier to die in Iraq. There are more than 4,300 soldiers from the post in Iraq.

Funeral services for both soldiers are incomplete and both incidents are under investigation.