BAGHDAD, April 22, 2008

Suicide Blast In Iraq Kills 2 Marines

Pair Die In Ramadi Explosion; Third Marine Dies In Basra Roadside Bombing

  •  (CBS/AP)

  • Interactive Battle For Iraq

    The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.

  • Interactive Iraq: 5 Years At War

    Five years after the U.S.-led invasion, the war wears on.

(CBS/AP)  The U.S. military said two American Marines have been killed in a suicide car bombing near Ramadi.

A statement says the attacker detonated an explosives-laden car at an entry control point in the vicinity of Ramadi.

The military says Tuesday's blast also wounded three other Multi-National Force - West Marines, along with two Iraqi police officers and 24 local residents.

The city west of Baghdad is the capital of the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province. It has been relatively peaceful since local tribal leaders joined forces with the U.S. military against al Qaeda in Iraq.

Also Tuesday, the U.S. military said a Marine was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq's southern port city of Basra. A statement said another Marine was injured in the attack on Monday. The statement released Tuesday gave no further details.

AP Television News footage from Basra on Monday showed thick smoke rising from a military vehicle burning on a highway overpass. U.S. and British forces have been active in support of Iraqi troops cracking down on Shiite militias and criminal gangs in Iraq's oil capital. The campaign has been going on for nearly a month.

In other developments:

  • Osama bin Laden's chief deputy in an audiotape Tuesday accused Shiite Iran of trying to discredit the Sunni al Qaeda terror network by spreading the conspiracy theory that Israel was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. The comments reflected al Qaeda's No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahiri's increasing criticism of Iran. Al-Zawahiri has accused Iran in recent messages of seeking to extend its power in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and through its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

  • Iraqi lawmakers are working on a draft bill to ban importing toy guns and fireworks, hoping to curb increasingly
    aggressive behavior among children who have grown up amid real war,
    a lawmaker said Tuesday. "The culture of violence has prevailed in our society and controlled the Iraqi family and that it has affected the culture of children," said Samira al-Moussawi, head of the parliamentary committee on children and women, which is preparing the
    legislation.

  • In Basra, a senior aide to Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani died on Tuesday, a week after being seriously injured in an assassination attempt. Two other al-Sistani representatives were injured in separate ambushes. The attacks came just days after a top aide of al-Sadr was killed in Najaf, suggesting the violence could be part of an internal Shiite power struggle.

    Meanwhile, an unmanned drone killed two gunmen in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district, while another remote-controlled aircraft crashed south of the capital, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

    In Kuwait, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged neighboring countries to help dry up "the springs of terrorism" by preventing militants from obtaining weapons and financing from abroad. He was attending a meeting of Iraq's neighbors and other nations aimed at helping the government restore stability in Iraq.

    There has been a sharp increase in violence in the country since al-Maliki launched an offensive against Shiite militias in Basra nearly a month ago. The fighting quickly spread to Sadr City, one of the strongholds of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to which U.S. and Iraqi forces have laid siege.

    Militiamen also have responded by repeatedly shelling Baghdad's U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and offices of the Iraqi government.

    Last weekend, al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, threatened to declare full-scale war on the U.S.-backed government if attacks on his followers continue. And on Monday, top Sadrists warned that open warfare was a "strong possibility" if the government did not ease the pressure on the Mahdi militia.

    U.S. Apache attack helicopters and armed Predator drones have been launching daily strikes against militiamen clashing with Iraqi and U.S. troops in Sadr City, a sprawling district of 2.5 million people.

    A military statement said that a drone spotted two gunmen with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher late Monday and engaged them with a Hellfire missile. Both men were killed.

    In another firefight in Sadr City, U.S. troops were hit by a roadside bomb and then attacked with small-arms fire. Troops returned fire and killed three attackers, a statement said.

    But near Iskandariyah, a town 30 miles south of Baghdad, a Shadow reconnaissance drone crashed early Tuesday, local police said. The U.S. military said it was investigating the cause of the crash.

    Unlike the much larger Predator, the Shadow is an unarmed lightweight craft equipped with a camera capable of producing color video in daylight and thermal images at night, which it conveys back to controllers on the ground.

    April has been a bad month for the drones, which are routinely used to monitor strife-torn areas of the country. Earlier in the month, two Predators crashed in different parts of Iraq and one was lost in Afghanistan. All are believed to have suffered mechanical failure, since insurgents in both countries lack even rudimentary anti-aircraft weapons.

    In Kuwait, al-Maliki tried to persuade Arab states that his country has "passed the crisis" and is much better off than it was a year ago.

    Al-Maliki told delegates at the conference's opening Tuesday that Iraq "has entered a new phase" and has "prevailed over factional disputes."

    He urged neighboring countries "to exert more efforts to enhance security procedures on the borders in order to prevent terrorists from infiltrating into our lands."

    "We also call for drying up the springs of terrorism and its sources of finance," he said.

    © MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
    Add a Comment See all 102 Comments
    by andrew_693 April 24, 2008 9:25 AM EDT
    libagenda, you are supposed to join your islamic-freedom fighter jihadist brothers instead of wasting your sorry life in the internet. Why aren''t you serving alongside your anti american brothers killing our soldiers? why aren''t you on a plane with your make belief hero oliver north betraying your country and selling weapons to the iranians like he did? aren''t you supposed to be blowing up hospitals because of abortion? or preparing to bomb the olympic games like your religious brothers did in Atlanta?
    Reply to this comment
    by prinzowhales April 23, 2008 7:58 PM EDT
    Sicky-Ricky--So, you beleive that maintaining that Osama is dead, is "sphewing (sic)...Islamic propaganda".....Tell me, how does that work...is there some Islamic push to make vigilant little patriots, like yourself, believe that their alleged leader is dead?"
    Reply to this comment
    by prinzowhales April 23, 2008 4:18 PM EDT
    Osama bin Dead...otherwise they would have his mug making tapes for them instead of their other shill, Al Zawahiri. Everyone, it seems, but Americans realize this...Do they really think that a guy who CBS reported was in a Pakistani military hospital on September 10, 2001 getting treatment for kidney failure out there in the boonies living off the fat of the land...such as it is in the mountains of Afghanistan?
    Reply to this comment
    by parrot123-2009 April 23, 2008 4:07 PM EDT
    Osama bin Laden''s chief deputy in an audiotape Tuesday accused Shiite Iran of trying to discredit the Sunni al Qaeda terror network by spreading the conspiracy theory that Israel was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. The comments reflected al Qaeda''s No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahiri''s increasing criticism of Iran. Al-Zawahiri has accused Iran in recent messages of seeking to extend its power in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and through its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.


    I might need a Repug to guide me through this Maze - First it''s axis of evil and then Iran supplying arms in ALQ in Iraq, then it''s McCain saying Iran supplying Sunni''s - then Saudis are Sunni - but last week Hamas was being ran and supported by Iran but this news article now mentions Hezbollah - so are they both competing terror groups ? If ALQ in iraq isn''t getting help from Iran, are they really the group in Iraq ?? *** are these 2 bast*ards doing alive ??? especially that POS OBL ????
    Reply to this comment
    by prinzowhales April 23, 2008 2:31 PM EDT
    If Christ was of the House of David...He was a Judaen, not a Jew. His rejection of the rabbins'' oral works is clear enough evidence of that distinction. Christianity, in its less churchified forms, has as great a claim (for whatever that is worth)to the inheritance of Israel as the Jews, who not only rejected the fulfillment of the prophecies in the coming of the Messiah but rejected the primacy of God and Holy Torah in their glorification of the ''wisdom'' of the rabbins in the Talmud.
    Reply to this comment
    by prinzowhales April 23, 2008 2:18 PM EDT
    Troops Home Now! Its time for Americans to face the facts of life!--9-11 was an inside job and the Anglo-American oligarchy and Israel were behind it!! The Demopublican creatures of the oligarchy refuse to investigate this crime but the world has awakened to the fact that the American people no longer figure in the equation of power in America...the slugs are actually choosing between three Demopublican hacks who serve only the interests of the ruling classes.

    Juan McWar even champions the NAFTA nonsense that has sabotaged our economy and hurt Mexican working people as well...and dung-eating dogs still support him!
    Clinton and Obama are far less outspoken, hiding their support behind a veil of words suggesting otherwise.

    The Stupid Peoples'' War against Democracy and for Big Oil, Israel and Opium, Open Borders, Lies, Free Trade, and the Police State...Corruption, a plummeting dollar and rising food and energy prices...What fine reasons to support the Demopublican scum!
    Reply to this comment
    by prinzowhales April 23, 2008 2:05 PM EDT
    Actually, we lost five servicemen to the Stupid Peoples'' War being fought for Big Oil and Israel on Tuesday...

    Now al Zawahiri...America''s al Qaeda puppet "Lambchop"...is having to deny what the world knows--Israel and the US were behind the attacks on 9-11. From the beginning, al Qaeda has been our creature and we have used it as a vehicle for the P2OG operations against Islamic nations...to manufacture enemies against whom we expend public monies and the lives of our soldiers for the sake of private goals...corporate control of oil in Iraq and the re-establishment of Opium production and control of resources in Afghanistan.

    The sad thing is that we could already have energy independence...electric cars, solar farms and wind farms for power as well as intra-city rail...all of which have been sabotaged and destroyed by Big Oil and the banking interests behind them.
    Reply to this comment
    by grim56z April 23, 2008 1:18 PM EDT
    Al Qada and Taliban hide away from Coalition Soldiers. A.Q. and Taliban should end their priss and poses. The Coalition must send each one a red evening gown with matching high heels and throw in some cosmetics and jewelry.
    Reply to this comment
    by ranger1948 April 23, 2008 9:01 AM EDT
    jwhitman
    I still like my idea better. The terrorists get to their heaven and find the 72 virgins waiting for them, all men, all gay and eating pork. And icing to the cake, all of them have the face of ben laden.
    Reply to this comment
    by April 23, 2008 3:06 AM EDT
    nunesbras wrote:

    "j-whitman,While McCain was facing the enemy lines you were hiding in the safety of a submarine. Is that what you call serving your country?"

    Where did you serve?

    Oh, you didn''t - you''re just another chickenhawk piece of excrement pretending to be a big man while you sit at home on your a$$ in the safety of your own trailerpark.

    I hope they bring back the draft so that a$$holes like you have to serve - or would you aim to beat ******** Cheney in the number of defermments he can get.

    What was it again? 5?

    If you want to talk about cowards, you better start talking about the majority of Republicans.
    Reply to this comment
    by April 23, 2008 2:57 AM EDT
    What''s the point in banning toy guns when they can get their hands on real guns just as easily?
    Reply to this comment
    by ioweign April 22, 2008 11:42 PM EDT
    j-whitman,,,,While McCain was facing the enemy lines you were hiding in the safety of a submarine. Is that what you call serving your country?


    ----------------------------------
    ----------------------------------------
    ------

    Posted by nunesbras at 05:38 PM : Apr 22, 2008

    And what were you doing? Selling panty hose at Lane Bryant?

    Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 07:59 PM : Apr 22, 2008


    Modeling panty hose is more to his liking...

    Reply to this comment
    by rowdytexan2 April 22, 2008 10:59 PM EDT
    j-whitman,,,,While McCain was facing the enemy lines you were hiding in the safety of a submarine. Is that what you call serving your country?


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Posted by nunesbras at 05:38 PM : Apr 22, 2008

    And what were you doing? Selling panty hose at Lane Bryant?
    Reply to this comment
    by rowdytexan2 April 22, 2008 10:57 PM EDT
    But fighting their way they have thwarted the greatest army in the world for over five years.



    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Posted by jn122736 at 05:38 PM : Apr 22, 2008

    What great army would that be? Mercenaries hired by Bush and Cheney? To go around doing their sneaky business to keep hate and chaos stirred up in Iraq so we have to stay there?

    Time to get them out! The Iraqi oil and the incorporation of the Middle East for greed is not worth the sacrifice of our young soldiers!
    Reply to this comment
    by minnick8-2009 April 22, 2008 9:46 PM EDT
    Before you tell me I never served my country, I''ll tell you I was in the military for 3 years during the Vietnam war and I served honorably.

    Too bad all the Al Quada don''t just commit suicide and get this all over with. They think they are going to some kind of glory to receive 76 virgins or something like that. All I know to say is that I''m sure glad that I''m not a virgin. What if my reward was to be in the harem or an Al Quada suicide bomber? The thought is horrifying.
    Reply to this comment
    by nunesbras April 22, 2008 8:38 PM EDT
    nunesbras,,,, You are a coward who never served this country in the uniform of our country

    Posted by j-whitman at 05:36 PM : Apr 22, 2008


    j-whitman,,,,While McCain was facing the enemy lines you were hiding in the safety of a submarine. Is that what you call serving your country?
    Reply to this comment
    by jn122736 April 22, 2008 8:38 PM EDT
    Man, those Al Qada and Taliban hide like women. They should come out and fight the Marines. One punch in the face would kill those characters. If not, they should put on ladies'''' dresses and act the part.
    Posted by Grim56Z at 03:53 PM : Apr 22, 2008
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    This comment is a classic example of the erroneous, narrow-minded, opinion many Americans seem to have of those people our troops are fighting.

    These people are doing the same thing our troops are doing; they are trying to win by fighting the most effective way they can, with what they have to fight with.

    To voluntarily take ones own life to help defeat an aggressor takes both tremendous bravery and total commitment.

    Our troops don%u2019t just stand up and fight; they use tanks, helicopters, strategic aerial bombing, and overwhelming numbers.

    The enemy has none of these things.

    If, as Grim56Z suggests, these people were to just stand up and fight head to head against those odds they would not last an hour.

    But fighting their way they have thwarted the greatest army in the world for over five years.
    Reply to this comment
    by crusherking April 22, 2008 8:38 PM EDT

    It is a favorite around Crawford, Texas...


    Posted by IOWEIGN

    Another Lie.. You aren''t anywhere near Tx.. Stop making up lies.. Although, it may be all you have. We don''t speak fondly of Nazi''s here, thats for you Libs up north.
    Reply to this comment
    by j-whitman April 22, 2008 8:36 PM EDT
    nunesbras,,,, You are a coward who never served this country in the uniform of our country
    Reply to this comment
    by nunesbras April 22, 2008 8:34 PM EDT
    Grim56Z,,,, Pink sundresses ?? Now that''''s a good idea, have you suggested it to Bush ??

    Posted by j-whitman at 04:55 PM : Apr 22, 2008


    j-whitman,,,,You coward vet. Whenever theres a report of US casulatie you come here to post cause you feel happy. When a US troop dies it helps your candidate Barack HUSSEIN OSAMA doesnt it?

    signed BaghdadsHere
    Reply to this comment
    See all 102 Comments
  • 60 Minutes

    The secrets of tennis legend Andre Agassi; the growing threat of cyber wars; and more.
    Read More

    Latest News
    News in Pictures
    Scroll Left Scroll Right
    • The Fall Of The Berlin Wall The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

      Looking Back at the Wall that Once Divided Germany On the 20th Anniversary of Its Collapse

    • Patricia Clarkson Patricia Clarkson

      Television and Film Actress, Yale School of Drama Graduate and Academy Award Nominee

    • Day in Pictures Day in Pictures

      A Glimpse at the Day's News as Seen Through a Camera Lens

    • Andre Agassi Andre Agassi

      Former Top-Seeded Tennis Star, Gossip Column Favorite and Philanthropist

    • Yankees Victory Parade Yankees Victory Parade

      The Yankees Celebrate Their 27th World Series Championship with a Ticker-Tape Parade Up Broadway

    • Orlando Office Shooting Orlando Office Shooting

      A Gunman Opens Fire at the Offices of an Engineering Firm Where He Once Worked

    Connect with CBS News

    Stay connected with the CBS News using your favorite social networks and online news applications: