Fourteen Marines killed in bombing

Twenty-one Marines killed in three days; U.S. journalist slain
Wednesday, August 3, 2005 Posted: 1235 GMT (2035 HKT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A roadside bomb blast killed 14 Marines and a civilian interpreter Wednesday as they rode in a vehicle near Haditha, Iraq, U.S. military officials said.

The military said the bomb struck the amphibious assault vehicle about 1 mile (about 2 kilometers) south of Haditha, along the Euphrates River about 135 miles northwest of Baghdad. The military said one Marine was wounded.

On Monday, six Marine sniper team members were killed in a firefight near the same city and a Marine was killed in nearby Hit. Twenty-one Marines have been killed in the region in three days. The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war stands at 1,820, according to U.S. military reports.

All 21 Marines who were killed Monday and Wednesday were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, part of the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.

Haditha and Hit are Sunni Arab cities along the Euphrates River about 135 miles (217 kilometers) and 95 miles (152 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, respectively. U.S. and Iraqi troops recently have been trying to clear insurgents out of both cities.

They are in sprawling Anbar province, which stretches from the western environs of Baghdad to the Syrian, Jordanian and Saudi borders.>>>continued

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/03/iraq.main/index.html