BAGHDAD — A bomb-rigged truck exploded at a checkpoint Tuesday near the western city of Ramadi, killing two U.S. Marines and wounding three others in a strike apparently carried out by al-Qaeda in Iraq in one of its former strongholds.
At least one civilian also died and two dozen were injured in the blast, the latest in a string of recent strikes in areas where local Sunnis have joined U.S. forces to battle al-Qaeda.
Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, which was once held by insurgents. But it has been relatively peaceful since local Sunni tribal leaders joined forces with the U.S. military against the terrorist movement.
Iraqi police said the suicide attacker drove a small water tanker packed with explosives to the checkpoint and detonated them when he reached the guards. The U.S. military said two Marines were killed and three injured.
In Diyala province, a woman detonated an explosive vest at the entrance to an Iraqi police station in Jalawla, killing eight policemen and a Kurd ish security guard, police said. Ten other people were wounded.
Al-Qaeda has been regrouping after suffering a devastating blow last year when thousands of Sunni tribesmen turned against them. Last weekend, al-Qaeda announced a one-month offensive against U.S. troops and Sunnis who have joined forces with Americans.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. command announced that an American Marine was killed and another wounded the day before when a roadside bomb struck a U.S. convoy in Basra.
Also in Basra, a senior aide to Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani died Tuesday, a week after being seriously wounded in an assassination attempt.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Kuwait, the United States and Iran pointedly ignored each other Tuesday as Iraq’s premier unsuccessfully pleaded for immediate financial and diplomatic backing from rich Arab neighbors still leery of Teh ran’s influence on Baghdad.
A sharp exchange between Saudi and Iranian diplomats underscored the mistrust that has hampered Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s mission to win those specific commitments.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he cannot understand why Arab states have not forgiven Iraq’s crushing debts, made new loans or sent ambassadors to Baghdad.
