14 Marines Die in Huge Explosion in Western Iraq: Week's Toll Rises to 21 For Ohio-Based Regiment

By Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post Foreign Service, August 4, 2005; Page A01 ,

BAGHDAD, Aug. 3 -- A Marine Reserve company that was known as "Lucky Lima" before suffering heavy casualties in May was hit Wednesday by the deadliest roadside bombing of the Iraq war, a massive explosion that killed 14 Marines and the unit's Iraqi interpreter, according to witnesses and military spokesmen.
The Marines were part of a convoy that was attacked on a desert road outside the western town of Haditha, one witness said. Rolling in armored vehicle after armored vehicle, the patrol was nearing the entrance to the town when a brilliant flash erupted in the middle of the convoy.
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