Bloodiest day for U.S. women

[__Kratos__]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A suicide bomb attack on a U.S. convoy in Falluja marked the bloodiest day for U.S. female troops serving in Iraq.

One of the two Marines killed in the late Thursday attack was a woman and 11 of the 13 wounded were female, U.S. military officials said Friday.

The Marines were assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and were returning to Camp Falluja Thursday night after manning checkpoints in the nearby city when a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle near the convoy.

The attack marked the most female casualties for the U.S. military in one day in the Iraq war. Prior to Thursday's attack, 36 U.S. female soldiers and three civilian contractors had been killed in Iraq before this assault, according to the Pentagon.

The female Marine was killed Thursay "when the vehicle she was in was attacked by a suicide-vehicle-borne improvised explosive device," the military statement said.

Three Marines and Navy sailor were believed to have been in the same vehicle and were listed as "Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown," meaning they have not been found or their bodies have not been identified.

Their genders were not given, but U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity said some women are believed to be among that group.

"The other Marine, a male, was killed by small arms fire immediately after the car bomb attack," the military statement said.

The statement added that female Marines "play a vital role providing security at the entry control points in the city. They search female Iraqi citizens moving through the checkpoints." (Read more)

The attack came at the end of another particularly violent day in the Iraqi capital. Four car bombings killed at least 17 people and wounded as many as 60 others in the city Thursday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said.

A suicide attack near an old mall in Baghdad's Karada area killed seven civilians and wounded 10 others, the defense ministry said, while the Iraqi police put the death toll at 12 civilians and three police officers, with 50 wounded.

Three police officers and seven civilians died in a second suicide blast targeting an Iraqi police patrol near a gas station, the ministry said. Ten civilians were wounded.

Car bombs also went off near two Shiite Muslim mosques -- Albu Jumaa and Abdul Rasool Ali.

On Wednesday, five car bombings rocked Baghdad, including three nearly simultaneous blasts that killed 18 people and wounded 46 others in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood, police said.

The Associated Press reports that there have been 480 car bombs in Iraq since the handover of sovereignty on June 28, 2004. The AP count found that at least 2,174 people have been killed and 5,520 have been wounded.

Source

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Falluja is suppose to be a "secure" city for the most part... our Infantry cleaned out the insurgents last year, but it looks like they are coming back to town. Sucks big time that they are over there in the first place. Those women are breaking ground for future women that want combat roles. Maybe we should just say "Screw Iraq", pack up and leave.

[Thanato]

The Canadian Forces have had Women in a combat role for years, is this something new for the US?

Anyway its war, tho i dont agree with the US Government, casualties for both men and women are explected.

~Thanato

[__Kratos__]

The Canadian Forces have had Women in a combat role for years, is this something new for the US?

Anyway its war, tho i dont agree with the US Government, casualties for both men and women are explected.

~Thanato

696825[/snapback]

Yes, quite new for us. Still today combat jobs are offlimits to women.

Yeah, I don't agree with the goverment, but I do support our troops with all my heart.

[Conspiracy]

by the looks at this iraq war will be over sooner or later if they keep suiciding themselves just to kill off american soldiers

[__Kratos__]

by the looks at this iraq war will be over sooner or later if they keep suiciding themselves just to kill off american soldiers

696886[/snapback]

That was by far the rudest and stupidest thing I have heard in a long time.

[Commander CMG]

by the looks at this iraq war will be over sooner or later if they keep suiciding themselves just to kill off american soldiers

696886[/snapback]

It's quite worrying and disturbing if you actually believe that?

[Space Commander Travis]

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Falluja is suppose to be a "secure" city for the most part... our Infantry cleaned out the insurgents last year, but it looks like they are coming back to town. Sucks big time that they are over there in the first place. Those women are breaking ground for future women that want combat roles. Maybe we should just say "Screw Iraq", pack up and leave.

696823[/snapback]

But that would mean losing face, wouldn't it; so it'll be as it always is, 'Sorry guys, we screwed up & got you into this, but we, in our bunkers in the Pentagon, would lose face if we were to pull out; so you'll just have to stick with it.'

If there'd been any kind of strategy for what to do after Saddam was inevitably toppled; or if Bush Snr had finished the job first time round ...

[twpdyp]

or if Bush Snr had finished the job first time round ...

He did, he was supposed to get Saddam out of Kuwait he did that. Just like Patton in WW2, Bush wanted to finish but was not allowed to. Patton wanted to push on into Russia but was not allowed to. This left a war yet to fight.

[Rachael]

Me and my ideas !!! sheesh - here I go - lol

What surprised me is why it had to be announced that WOMEN DIED - like so what male or female - shouldn't be an issue.

These women have gained respect by joining the military - which is mostly run by blokes, trying to show their colleagues that they are equal - and they have their respect taken away at death - by the media announcing (by purely making the statement they were women) that their death was more tragic than their colleagues.

shouldn't have been made that statement

[Mekorig]

Patton wanted to push on into Russia but was not allowed to. This left a war yet to fight.

697421[/snapback]

Off Topic

If Patton had do that the russians would eat him alive. To the end of the war the USa hasnt enought strenght to defy the russianss.

Off Topic

[girty1600]

by the looks at this iraq war will be over sooner or later if they keep suiciding themselves just to kill off american soldiers

696886[/snapback]

Cut off a dragon's head and two will grow in it's place. Each time one blows himself up we could assume that two more people will become suicide bombers. It's an itis and US occupation of Iraq is not the cure. I don't know what is.

[Space Commander Travis]

Exactly. leaving the WMD issue aside for a moment, bringing Saddam to justice could only be a good thing; what no one seemed to have thought of was what form post-Saddam Iraq would take.

if only the UN could have been persuaded to have taken over as soon as the 'major combat operations' (© President Bush) were over; if only regime change had been presented as a justifiable cause in itself (which i think, quite frankly, there ought to be a case for in international law) rather than the WMD business ...

[girty1600]

The US administration lied to the public about going to war with Germany during WWII as well. I'm not saying it's right I'm just saying it happened.

To get back on topic; loss of life is plainly that, loss. No matter if it's a man or a woman. I lost a gal pal not too long ago and it was quite tragic when her convoy was bombed. There are strict laws that say women are not to be in "the front lines" or combat, if you will (I don't agree with this and neither do the ladies in the US armed forces) but they end up in battle never the less.

[ALNA70]

Me and my ideas !!! sheesh - here I go - lol

What surprised me is why it had to be announced that WOMEN DIED - like so what male or female - shouldn't be an issue.

These women have gained respect by joining the military - which is mostly run by blokes, trying to show their colleagues that they are equal - and they have their respect taken away at death - by the media announcing (by purely making the statement they were women) that their death was more tragic than their colleagues.

shouldn't have been made that statement

697423[/snapback]

IMO, the statement was made because it's a "new" thing for American women soldiers to be active in combat.

Not argueing, just putting in my 2 cents.

[Dowdy]

Maybe we should just say "Screw Iraq", pack up and leave.

Well, thats what they want you to do.......