At least 24 people – two Mainers among them – were killed Tuesday when an explosion devastated a military dining hall in Mosul, Iraq.

Details of the attack were still being sorted out late Tuesday, but reports from the scene told a terrible story of death and injury, heroism and selflessness.

According to The Associated Press and Gov. John Baldacci’s office, two of the dead and 10 of the more than 60 wounded were members of the Maine Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion.

If the bad news is confirmed, the attack will rank as one of the deadliest since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

The 133rd is almost a year removed from its call-up last January. After three months in New York, the unit shipped out for Iraq in March. In April, Christopher Gelineau, a 23-year-old student at the University of Southern Maine and a member of the 133rd, was killed during an ambush. The names of Tuesday’s casualties were not being released, pending notification of the families. The unit is due to come home in April.

The human costs of operations in Iraq continue to climb. There are, on average, 90 attacks a day on U.S. troops, resulting in two deaths and 30 wounded. The daily reports obscure the personal and immediate price paid by the men and women – and their families – who are serving in Iraq.

That is, until the horrible news hits close to home. Some of our neighbors today – here and in Iraq – are mourning. Others are hurt, tired, worried, angry. We owe them the support of a grateful community, concerned for their welfare and thankful for their service.

We have criticized the way the Bush administration has conducted the war in Iraq. But our support for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines has never wavered.

While the pretext for the war has proven false, the reason U.S. forces remain in Iraq was eloquently described by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was in Baghdad for a surprise visit when the base in Mosul was struck:

“The danger that people feel here is coming from terrorists and insurgents who are trying to destroy the possibility of this country becoming a democracy. Now where do we stand in that fight? We stand on the side of the democrats against the terrorists. … The source of that challenge is a wicked, destructive attempt to stop this man, this lady, all these people from Iraq, who want to decide their own future in a democratic way, having that opportunity. … There is another choice for Iraq – the choice is democracy, the choice is freedom – and our job is to help them get there …”

It’s a tough job with terrible consequences for some of those asked to do it. We are reminded of that truth today.

We are eager for our soldiers to come home and for this war to end, but it will likely be a long, difficult struggle before Iraq is stable and free.