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Fourteen US troops die in Iraq blast
Fourteen US marines and a civilian interpreter were killed in action today in western Iraq when a roadside bomb engulfed their amphibious assault vehicle.
The US military described the attack as having occurred during "combat operations" a couple of miles south of the city of Haditha, which is 140 miles north-west of Baghdad on the Euphrates river.
Another marine was wounded in the blast, which was one of the single deadliest attacks against US forces since the beginning of the war. In total at least 1,820 US personnel have died in Iraq since the conflict began, in March 2003.
Today's blast was the second big, fatal attack against marines in Haditha in the past three days. Six marines were killed in clashes with insurgents in the city on Monday, and a seventh was killed by a car bomb blast in an area outside the town.
In the past month, more than 60 US troops have died, many of them in the Anbar province, which includes Haditha, and the flashpoint cities of Falluja and Ramadi. US forces have launched two big offensives in the area, which is considered the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, since May in an attempt to crush rebels.
But insurgents have stepped up attacks since a new Iraqi government was formed in April, killing hundreds of people.
Roadside bomb attacks aimed at coalition targets have become a routine tactic and, despite Washington's desire to transfer security to the slowly developing Iraqi security forces, the US military has admitted there are no signs of the insurgency fading.
The names of those killed today are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and will be released later by the US department of defence. US command said the troops were from the 2nd marine division, II marine expeditionary force.
In December last year, 22 people were killed, including 14 US servicemen, when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mess hall at a military base in the northern city of Mosul. That was the deadliest attack on a US installation since the war started.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1541741,00.html
Another marine was wounded in the blast, which was one of the single deadliest attacks against US forces since the beginning of the war. In total at least 1,820 US personnel have died in Iraq since the conflict began, in March 2003.
Today's blast was the second big, fatal attack against marines in Haditha in the past three days. Six marines were killed in clashes with insurgents in the city on Monday, and a seventh was killed by a car bomb blast in an area outside the town.
In the past month, more than 60 US troops have died, many of them in the Anbar province, which includes Haditha, and the flashpoint cities of Falluja and Ramadi. US forces have launched two big offensives in the area, which is considered the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, since May in an attempt to crush rebels.
But insurgents have stepped up attacks since a new Iraqi government was formed in April, killing hundreds of people.
Roadside bomb attacks aimed at coalition targets have become a routine tactic and, despite Washington's desire to transfer security to the slowly developing Iraqi security forces, the US military has admitted there are no signs of the insurgency fading.
The names of those killed today are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and will be released later by the US department of defence. US command said the troops were from the 2nd marine division, II marine expeditionary force.
In December last year, 22 people were killed, including 14 US servicemen, when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mess hall at a military base in the northern city of Mosul. That was the deadliest attack on a US installation since the war started.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1541741,00.html
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IMC Network
By The Associated Press
List of some of the deadliest reported incidents for U.S. troops in Iraq:
* Aug. 3, 2005: A Marine amphibious assault vehicle strikes a roadside bomb in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing 14 Marines.
* Aug. 1, 2005: Seven Marines are killed during operations to stem the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq. Six Marines are killed in combat in Haditha and one is killed by a suicide car bomb in Hit.
* Jan. 26, 2005: A U.S. CH-53 transport helicopter crashes in bad weather in Iraq's western desert, killing at least 31 Marines.
* Dec. 21, 2004: A suicide bomb attack at a mess tent in a base near Mosul kills 22 people, including 14 U.S. soldiers.
* Nov. 15, 2003: Two Black Hawk helicopters collide while trying to avoid ground fire in Mosul, killing 17 U.S. troops and wounding five.
* Nov. 2, 2003: Chinook transport helicopter shot down by shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile near Fallujah, killing 16 American soldiers and wounding 26.