The US military is admitting to “casualties” after a car bomb attack on a Marine convoy in the “safest city in Iraq.” Xinhua is claiming to have spoken to an eyewitness:
An overnight roadside bomb blast struck a US military patrol in Iraq’s western city of Fallujah, destroying a US armored vehicle and causing several casualties, witnesses said on Friday.
“The blast took place on late Thursday near the main US military checkpoint at the eastern entrance of the city, destroying a US Humvee, killing and wounding the US soldiers aboard,” Ahmed Salih, a Fallujah resident told Xinhua.
A US military statement on Friday confirmed the attack, without giving precise casualties and further details.
Separately, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden vehicle near the house of a tribal leader in the southern neighborhood of Fallujah on Thursday night, witnesses said.
The suicide bomber was killed in the blast which caused no other casualties, they said, adding that Sheikh Khamis Hasnawi al-Eifan, chieftain of Albu Issa tribe, escaped the assassination attempt unharmed.
Eifan and his family member refused to talk about the reasons behind the attack.
Meanwhile, General John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, practically calls US VP Dick “Last Throes” Cheney a liar. And that was before the Marines in Fallujah were bombed.
UPDATE: Wonkette on Cheney’s “Clintonesque” response to Abizaid’s statement.
And, the US military’s statement on the Fallujah bombing:
Jun 24, 2005 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Two U.S. Marines were killed, 13 were wounded, and four other troops were listed as missing following a powerful suicide car bomb attack on a U.S. convoy, the U.S. military said on Friday.
“Three Marines and a sailor believed to be in the vehicle are currently listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown pending a positive identification,” the Marines said in a statement that also listed the two dead and 13 wounded.
Sailors attached to Marine units are normally medics.
Missing?