US marine killed, one wounded in grenade blast south of Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AFP) Jul 27, 2003
One US marine was killed and another wounded in a grenade blast south of Baghdad early Sunday, a military spokeswoman said.

"At 2:35 am (2235 GMT Saturday), a marine was killed and one wounded during a grenade attack by a bridge", said Specialist Nicole Thompson.

The attack on the soldier from the Marine First Expeditionary Force was by Al-Haswah, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Baghdad.

The death raised the toll to five US soldiers killed in the last 24 hours and 14 in the last seven days, the highest number of casualties in one week since Washington declared major combat operations over on May 1.

A total of 49 US soldiers have been killed in guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks blamed on Saddam Hussein loyalists since May, with more than half the deaths coming in July.

WAR.WIRE