Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Al Qaeda…

BAGHDAD — Iraqi troops have captured two suspected insurgents linked to a suicide bombing that killed at least 20 Iraqis and three U.S. Marines, including the battalion commander of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines.

The two suspected insurgents linked to the June 26 attack were captured in a July 18 raid near Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, the Iraqi military said Friday.

The statement said the suspects have been linked to various wings of al-Qaida in Iraq and were connected to the suicide bombing that killed the Marines “and several sheiks” during a meeting. The suspects also were thought to be associated with al-Qaida efforts to recruit young boys as suicide bombers, according to the military.

Killed in the attack were Lt. Col. Max A. Galeai, 42, of Pago Pago, American Samoa; Capt. Phil Dykeman, 38, of Brockport, N.Y.; and Cpl. Marcus W. Preudhomme, 23, of North Miami Beach, Fla. They were the first Marines from the Hawaii-based 2/3 killed in Iraq since the unit deployed in February.

Galeai, whose battalion included at least 1,000 Marines and sailors, was the first Marine battalion commander killed in Operation Iraqi or Enduring Freedom and the second 2/3 lieutenant colonel killed in Iraq. Lt. Col. Joseph T. McCloud died Dec. 3, 2006, when the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter in which he was riding crashed in Anbar.

An al-Qaida front organization, the Islamic State of Iraq, has claimed responsibility for the June 26 attack, which underscored the dangers facing Sunni tribal leaders who have turned against the terror movement and cooperated with U.S. and Iraqi authorities. Several Sunni sheiks also died in the blast.

The three Marines were killed along with at least 20 Iraqis when the suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a building in the Anbar province town of Karmah, 50 miles west of Baghdad, as dozens of sheiks were attending a meeting with U.S. officials.

The U.S. command said two interpreters for the Americans also were killed.

(AP)