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14 U.S. Marines killed in Iraq

Atul Aneja

MANAMA: There has been a surge in American casualties in Iraq, with Iraqi guerillas killing 14 Marines on Wednesday, two days after another seven died in combat in an area northwest of Baghdad along the Euphrates valley.

The Marines were killed after an improvised explosive devise hit the vehicle in which they were travelling. One soldier was also wounded in the attack, which took place outside Haditha-a town 224 km northwest of Baghdad.

The casualties have followed a major offensive by U.S. troops along the Euphrates river, with the apparent objective of blocking infiltration across the Syrian border.

Both the towns are in the Anbar province, which also has Fallujah and Ramadi as symbols of resistance against American occupation.

U.S. journalist killed

Reuters reports:

An American journalist and author was found dead after being shot three times in the chest in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a U.S. embassy official said on Wednesday.

Steven Vincent's death came four days after an opinion piece he wrote criticising the rise of Shia Islamist fundamentalism in Basra was published in The New York Times.

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