Al-Qaida in Iraq issues video claiming attack on U.S. Marines vehicle in Ramadi

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) – Iraqi militants released a video Monday showing the body of a U.S. Marine they claimed had been killed in a suicide car bomb attack on a military convoy in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The 21/2 minute video, released by the al-Qaida in Iraq group and aired on a web site known for carrying extremist Islamic content, showed a U.S. military tanker truck billowing flames and black smoke. Text shown on the video claimed a suicide car bomber struck the American vehicle. In another shot, the slain, uniformed body of a U.S. Marine, apparently Caucasian, was shown lying on his back. The tape said the attack took place in Ramadi, a militant stronghold near Fallujah, west of Baghdad. More than 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched an attack on Fallujah, believed to be the base of about 3,000 militants, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of the al-Qaida in Iraq group. Al-Zarqawi’s group has claimed responsibility for multiple suicide bombings, attacks and beheadings of captives, including several foreigners, in its battle against occupying U.S.-led forces and the American-backed Iraqi interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.