Tibetan-American Marine killed in Iraq

WASHINGTON - A 19-year-old Tibet-born US Marine has been killed in combat in Iraq, less than one month after deploying there, a report said Wednesday.
Marine Lance Corporal Tenzin Choeku Dengkhim died last week in an explosion while serving as a scout for his platoon in Hadithah city in Anbar Province.
"He was a very good boy, deeply religious, and (he) talked of serving Tibet as a soldier after he completed his military career as a US Marine," said Rinzin Choedon, his mother, a Tibetan service broadcaster for Radio Free Asia.
He is the first Tibetan-American killed in combat in Iraq, according to Tibetan community leaders, Radio Free Asia reported.
The Indian-born Dengkhim enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 2003 in the hope of saving money for college, according to a family friend.

04/06/2005 16:29 GMT