Baghdad, April 8, SPA -- A U.S. Marine was killed in a motorvehicle accident during combat operations in central Iraq,the military said Friday. The Marine, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2ndMarine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killedWednesday in Fallujah, 65 kilometers (40 miles) west ofBaghdad, the military said in a statement. No other details were provided. The name of the Marine was being withheld pendingnotification of next of kin. As of Thursday, April 7, 2005, at least 1,543 members ofthe U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraqwar in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.--SPA1128 Local Time 0828 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/252977