BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A suicide car bomber and gunmen ambushed a convoy carrying female U.S. Marines in Fallujah, killing two Marines and leaving another four American troops presumed dead, the military said Friday. At least one woman was killed and 11 of 13 wounded were female.
The terror group al-Qaida in Iraq claimed it carried out the bombing, one of the single deadliest attacks against the Marines - and against women - in this country. The high number of female casualties spoke to the lack of any real front lines in Iraq, where U.S. troops are battling a raging insurgency and American women soldiers have taken part in more close-quarters combat than in any previous military conflict.
The women were part of a team of Marines who were assigned to various checkpoints around Fallujah. The Marines were returning to their base, Camp Fallujah, when the ambush took place Thursday night near the eastern entrance to the city, 40 miles west of Baghdad. At least one of the dead Marines in Thursday's attack was a woman, as were 11 of the 13 wounded. The woman was killed when the car bomber attacked the vehicle in which she was traveling. |