thedrifter
04-22-08, 07:15 PM
3 Marines killed, 4 injured in Iraq bombings
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 22, 2008 17:58:07 EDT
BAGHDAD — A bomb-rigged truck exploded at a checkpoint Tuesday near the western city of Ramadi, killing two Marines and wounding three others in an apparent strike by al-Qaida in Iraq in one of its former strongholds.
At least one civilian also died and two dozen were injured in the blast, the latest in a string of recent strikes in areas where local Sunnis have joined U.S. forces to battle al-Qaida.
Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, which was once held by insurgents. But it has been relatively peaceful since local Sunni tribal leaders joined forces with the U.S. military against the terror movement.
Iraqi police said the suicide attacker drove a small water tanker packed with explosives to the checkpoint and detonated them when he reached the guards. The U.S. military said two Marines were killed and three injured.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. command announced that an Marine was killed and another wounded the day before when a roadside bomb struck a U.S. convoy in Basra.
U.S. and British forces have been assisting Iraqi forces in Basra since their offensive bogged down due to poor planning, widespread desertions and fierce resistance by the militias.
The Iraqi army command in Basra declared the city and the surrounding province under government control Tuesday and gave top Mahdi commanders in the area 24 hours to surrender.
Also in Basra, a senior aide to Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani died Tuesday, a week after being seriously wounded in an assassination attempt. Two other al-Sistani representatives were injured in separate ambushes.
The attacks came days after a top aide of al-Sadr was killed in Najaf — part of the ongoing Shiite power struggle.
The crackdown had led to fears that al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, may declare full-scale war on the U.S.-backed government.
On Monday, top Sadrists warned that open warfare was a “strong possibility” and complained that the government appeared uninterested in a peaceful settlement.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 22, 2008 17:58:07 EDT
BAGHDAD — A bomb-rigged truck exploded at a checkpoint Tuesday near the western city of Ramadi, killing two Marines and wounding three others in an apparent strike by al-Qaida in Iraq in one of its former strongholds.
At least one civilian also died and two dozen were injured in the blast, the latest in a string of recent strikes in areas where local Sunnis have joined U.S. forces to battle al-Qaida.
Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, which was once held by insurgents. But it has been relatively peaceful since local Sunni tribal leaders joined forces with the U.S. military against the terror movement.
Iraqi police said the suicide attacker drove a small water tanker packed with explosives to the checkpoint and detonated them when he reached the guards. The U.S. military said two Marines were killed and three injured.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. command announced that an Marine was killed and another wounded the day before when a roadside bomb struck a U.S. convoy in Basra.
U.S. and British forces have been assisting Iraqi forces in Basra since their offensive bogged down due to poor planning, widespread desertions and fierce resistance by the militias.
The Iraqi army command in Basra declared the city and the surrounding province under government control Tuesday and gave top Mahdi commanders in the area 24 hours to surrender.
Also in Basra, a senior aide to Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani died Tuesday, a week after being seriously wounded in an assassination attempt. Two other al-Sistani representatives were injured in separate ambushes.
The attacks came days after a top aide of al-Sadr was killed in Najaf — part of the ongoing Shiite power struggle.
The crackdown had led to fears that al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, may declare full-scale war on the U.S.-backed government.
On Monday, top Sadrists warned that open warfare was a “strong possibility” and complained that the government appeared uninterested in a peaceful settlement.
Ellie