FALLUJAH, Iraq, Dec 19 (AFP) - A marine was killed by small arms fire during
clashes Sunday with insurgents in the restive Iraqi city of Ramadi, the US
military reported on Monday.

Ramadi, in the western Al-Anbar province, has long been a stronghold of the
insurgency and several joint US-Iraqi operations have been conducted in the
area.

According to the Pentagon's count, 2,156 US military personnel have died
since the invasion of Iraq.