8月3日，驻伊美军在伊拉克西北部地区执行任务时遭路边炸弹袭击，14名海军陆战队队员被打死。加上１日身亡的7名美军士兵，3天内就有20余名海军陆战队员在幼发拉底河沿岸被打死。这是美军自2003年伊战以来在单一事件中遭受的最惨重伤亡。外电报道如下：A roadside bomb blast killed 14 Marines and a civilian² interpreter Wednesday as they rode in a vehicle near Haditha, Iraq, U.S. military officials said.

The military said the bomb struck the amphibious assault vehicle about 1 mile south of Haditha, a city along the Euphrates River about 135 miles northwest of Baghdad. The military said one Marine¹ was wounded.

The 14 Marines were all attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, the Pentagon said.

Amphibious assault vehicle表示“水陆两用装甲车”，amphibious意为“两栖的；水陆两用的；海陆空协同作战的；有双重性格的”，如：amphibious tanks（水陆两用坦克）；amphibious assault ship（两栖攻击舰）；amphibious operations（海陆空协同作战）；amphibious corps³（水陆两栖机动部队）。