Word: fallujah
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...Marwan is already a battle-hardened insurgent, a jihadi foot soldier in Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi's terrorist group, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Like the bulk of insurgents, he is a Sunni Muslim from the former ruling minority community. In his hometown, Fallujah, he is known for his ferociousness in battle and deep religiosity. Marwan asked his commander to consider him for a suicide mission last fall but had to wait until the beginning of April for his name to be put on the list of volunteers. "When he finally agreed," Marwan recalls, "it was the happiest...
...volunteers to become the most lethal weapon Iraq's insurgents have. Since May 1, Iraq has witnessed at least 129 suicide attacks, accounting for several of the estimated 150 U.S. fatalities during this period, including as many as six soldiers killed in an attack of their convoy near Fallujah last week. Most of the 1,200 Iraqis killed by insurgents since May 1 have died in suicide bombings. And yet, despite the frequency and deadliness of their attacks, almost nothing is known about individual bombers. Their identities have rarely been revealed and then only posthumously, on jihadist websites or carefully...
...covered with wispy facial hair that makes him look younger than his age, Marwan doesn't stand out in the streets of Iraq. Few would notice his one distinguishing feature: outsize hands, heavily callused from use of his favorite weapon, the Russian-made PKC machine gun. Even his distinctive Fallujah accent is not uncommon amid the din of the Iraqi capital, where suicide bombings are most frequent. According to an informant close to several insurgent groups and a U.S. official familiar with rebel operations, small and nondescript fighters like Marwan are considered ideal bombers, since they can slip into crowds...
...large family, that was his responsibility. His father was in his mid-60s, and after working up to three jobs at a time to support the family, he deserved a break. Days later, Victor's Marine unit, nicknamed "Havoc 2," shipped out of Camp Pendleton, California, destined for Fallujah. It was the last time his mother would...
Like many Iraqi army officers, Abu Laith (the alias of a Baath Party member from Fallujah and former captain in Saddam's 6th Armored Division) found himself out of a job when the U.S. dissolved both the Baath Party and the Iraqi military in 2003. His army commission and party membership, formerly twin keys to success in the old Iraq, were now liabilities. For months, he stayed in his house, depressed. "Iraqis thought it was a great honor to be an officer in the army," he said. "I'd lost my honor...