Iraq war - Six US marines killed in Iraq attacks

BAGHDAD - Six U.S. Marines were killed by roadside bomb blasts during combat operations in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Friday, bringing the total U.S. military death toll to at least 1,948 since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

A U.S. marine in western Iraq

A military statement said four marines died when a bomb went off in Gharma, near Falluja, on Thursday. Falluja, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, is a stronghold of Sunni Arab opposition to U.S. occupation and the Shi'ite-led government.

Two more marines were killed on Thursday by a roadside bomb while on patrol in the vicinity of Qaim near the Syrian border, where the U.S. forces are conducting a major combat operation aimed at flushing out militant fighters, a separate military statement said.

U.S. and British in Iraq have been repeatedly attacked in recent months by "shaped charges" which are able to pierce armour and hence much more deadly than conventional roadside bombs.

Reuters

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