Marines yesterday examined a house discovered three days earlier where two suicide belts were found. The new search revealed three more belts and a carton with “82nd Airborne” stamped on the top that was full of US Army-issued desert fatigues, said Lt Col Brennan Byrne, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The discovery of the house was first reported on Thursday, after troops shot and killed two men who approached their positions and were found to be wearing two more belts bearing plastic explosives and metal for shrapnel. Suicide tactics had not previously been seen in Fallujah since Marines began their assault a week ago aiming to uproot Sunni insurgents who have made the city their stronghold. There have been scores of suicide attacks, mostly using car or truck bombs, in other parts of Iraq, including against Iraqi defence forces, the Red Cross and United Nations.
