A Hawai'i-based soldier from South Carolina has died in Iraq from injuries suffered in a noncombat-related incident, the Department of Defense said yesterday.

Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell, 26, of Anderson, S.C., died Wednesday in Baghdad. The military said the incident is under investigation and details of what happened have yet to be released.

Futrell was a member of the 13th Military Police Detachment, 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command at Fort Shafter. He was serving as an explosive-detector dog handler.

Futrell's mother, Vicki Futrell, said that her son always wanted to work in law enforcement and was working as a military police officer, the Associated Press reported. She said he was on his second deployment in a war zone.

Futrell was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Pentagon said. It was his first tour of duty in Iraq. In 2004 and 2005, Futrell served in Afghanistan.

Futrell joined the Army in 2001, and became part of the 13th MP Detachment last year, the military said.