CLEVELAND -- Three Ohio Marines from an Akron-based based unit were among five servicemen killed in the same attack in western Iraq this week, the Department of Defense said Friday.

Lance Cpl. Thomas O. Keeling, 23, of Strongsville, and Cpl. Brad D. Squires, 26, of Middleburg Heights were among five Marines killed in the explosion while conducting combat operations in Haqlaniyah.

Another Marine killed in the explosion was Lance Cpl. Devon Seymour, 21, from St. Louisville, Ohio.

They were assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.

A Marine from Idaho and another from Washington state also died in the attack, the military said.

Thursday's attack was the second time in as many months that three Ohio Marines from the same unit were killed in Iraq. A U.S. military offensive May 11 resulted in the deaths of three members of the Columbus-based reserve unit Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment. That unit lost another Marine in fighting a few days earlier as part of the same operation.

Seymour was killed a year after his father, an Ohio National Guardsman, returned from duty in Afghanistan, his family said Friday.

He died when his vehicle was hit by an explosive device, said his father, James Seymour.

The younger Seymour was deployed to Iraq in February. He graduated in 2002 from Utica High School in Licking County, east of Columbus.

James Seymour said his son decided to join the Marine Reserves during his senior year after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"He took his birth certificate in and he was too young," James Seymour said.

The 17-year-old was told he had to wait until his birthday in November before he could sign up, his father said.

His father returned home last spring after serving seven months in Afghanistan. "I got back in May and his unit was activated in November of that same year," James Seymour said.

Devon Seymour was responsible and determined, even when he was a child, his father said.

"He wanted a dog, so what he did was, he cut pictures out of magazines," his father said. "Every time you opened a door, there would be a dog."

The family adopted a poodle-terrier mix, and later a German shepherd.

"He was a good kid. He was very proud to be Marine," Seymour said. "And I should say, we were very proud."

Keeling's stepfather and grandfather were both Marines, according to the stepfather, Robert Berry. The Strongsville High School graduate was part of a mobile strike force hunting insurgents in the Anbar province, Berry told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.

Keeling got his criminal justice degree from Kent State University last year, Berry said. He was considering a career in the FBI.

"He said he could see things improving, he could see the changes," Berry said.

Keeling is survived by his parents and two sisters.

Squires got married in December shortly before he shipped out, said his aunt, Donna Dirk. He is survived by his wife, Julie, parents Donna and Bruce Squires, a brother, Chad Squires, and sister, Jodie Bogdan.