Two Texas Marines are among the casualties as U.S. and Iraqi troops continue an offensive along the Syrian border called Operation Steel Curtain.
Cpl. John M. Longoria, 21, of Nixon died Monday of wounds from small arms fire.
A homemade bomb claimed the life of Lance Cpl. Christopher M. McCrackin, 20, of Liverpool on Monday. Maj. Ramon Mendoza, 37, of Columbus, Ohio was also killed in the explosion.
All three Marines were assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Pendleton, Calif.
