FALLUJAH, Iraq, June 24 (UPI) -- Five Marines and a sailor died Thursday when a massive car bomb detonated near their convoy in Fallujah, Iraq, U.S. Central Command reports. Thirteen others were wounded. Female troops were among both the wounded and the dead.
Groups of female Marines are often used as "lioness teams" to search female Iraqis and to corral and search children at vehicle checkpoints and during raids on buildings. Cultural sensitivities prevent male U.S. troops from touching Iraqi women. The Marines were assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force which is stationed in violent Anbar province.
Three Marines and a sailor believed to be in the vehicle are currently listed as "Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown" pending a positive identification, Central Command said in an announcement Friday. |