About 40 soldiers with the Utah National Guard's 115th Engineer Battalion are returning home today after serving in Iraq since January of this year.

The 115th provided equipment used in the detection and clearing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The soldiers also helped train coalition personnel on how to use the devices.

The increasing use of IEDs in the Iraq war has claimed the lives of 1,071 U.S. and coalition military members since 2003, according to the Web site www.icasualties

.org. To date, 2,888 U.S. troops have died during the Iraq war.

No one with the Utah group of 115th soldiers was injured or killed during deployment.

During their tour in Iraq, soldiers also used search dogs to help look for IEDs. Those dogs are given ranks, just like soldiers, and often outrank their handlers, according to Guard officials.