Ten Marines killed in Iraq

Published December 3, 2005

BAGHDAD, Dec 2: A roadside explosion killed 10 US Marines and wounded 11 outside the troubled Iraqi city of Fallujah, the US military said on Friday as they launched a new operation in the nearby city of Ramadi.

The deadly attack against a foot patrol occurred on Thursday and was the bloodiest single attack on US military since August, a US military statement said.

The violence coincided with the issue of a report by a Washington-based research group that suggested the insurgency was thriving and could get even stronger.

The Marine patrol ‘was attacked with an IED (improvised explosive device) fashioned from several large artillery shells,’ the military said.

The deaths brought the US military toll in Iraq to 2,125 soldiers and defence personnel killed since the start of the US-led war in 2003, according to Pentagon figures.

The Fallujah blast came shortly after US and Iraqi forces launched a joint operation in nearby Ramadi where militants had staged a symbolic attack a day earlier.

Approximately 200 Iraqi soldiers and 300 Marines were taking part in Operation Shank, the fifth operation over the last few weeks targeting insurgents in the area around Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

The offensive was issued after residents of Ramadi, the capital of the restive province of Al-Anbar, reported on Thursday a sudden insurgent presence on the streets.

Rebels fired a rocket at a US-Iraqi checkpoint, and dozens of fighters briefly roamed unchecked and put up Al Qaeda posters.

Meanwhile, a policeman and his brother were gunned down in a drive by shooting in the northern town of Mosul, while in the northern oil-hub of Kirkuk, an army officer and the bodyguard of a government official were killed, police said.

On Thursday night, a man was killed and his brother wounded by gunmen dressed as Iraqi soldiers in Baquba. —AFP

Opinion

Disputed canal project

Disputed canal project

It seems that PP, which claims to champion the struggle for people’s democratic rights, is now only interested in protecting its own power.

Editorial

Forgotten inmates
Updated 26 Feb, 2025

Forgotten inmates

Diversion programmes are needed for minor offences and people with psychosocial disabilities should receive treatment rather than be jailed.
Controlling crypto
26 Feb, 2025

Controlling crypto

THOUGH Pakistan’s official position on cryptocurrencies has evolved considerably over the years, there still seems...
Deadly roads
26 Feb, 2025

Deadly roads

DRIVING in Karachi can be hazardous, with chaos on the roads, and very little by way of following rules and...
All out
Updated 25 Feb, 2025

All out

PAKISTAN cricket captain Mohammad Rizwan’s assessment was brutal — it could not have been any other way. At ...
Bearing the brunt
25 Feb, 2025

Bearing the brunt

FOR the past several months, we have repeatedly been told by the prime minister and his cabinet that the government...
Afghan resettlement
25 Feb, 2025

Afghan resettlement

AFGHAN refugees who fled their country after the Taliban took over in 2021, and who hoped to resettle in the West,...