Two American, 15 Iraqi soldiers killed in attacks

The American army said in a statement on Monday that two marines were killed in battles with gunmen to the west of Iraq. The two soldiers were killed on Sunday in Hait in al-Anbar governorate.

The statement said the two men were killed by "indirect fire" in remarks to that they were exposed to mortar shelling. The US forces are launching large scale operations in "Hait" and other areas of al-Anbar governorate to the west of Iraq since one month.

This came while the American forces escorted by Iraqi government forces continue their fourth military operation in al-Zeidan area to the south east of Falluja.