8 US marines killed in Iraq
2004-10-30 19:22
Baghdad - Eight US marines were killed conducting security operations in an Iraqi province that is home to rebel strongholds, as seven people died in the latest car bomb to rip through the heart of Baghdad.
Crunch talks to avert an all-out military assault rumbled on the rebel-held town of Fallujah in restive Al-Anbar province, where the marines were killed in one of the highest single-day military death tolls since last year's invasion.
A Sudanese and a Somali, meanwhile, became the latest foreigners seized by Islamic militants, as mystery surrounded the fate of a Japanese tourist taken hostage last week.
The marines lost their lives in a province that is home to the flashpoint Sunni Muslim cities of Fallujah and Ramadi that the United States has long struggled to control and have now become hotbeds of insurgent activity.
"Eight Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in action and nine others were wounded in action today while conducting increased security operations in the Al-Anbar province," the military said.
Time is now running out to find a peaceful solution to a crisis surrounding Fallujah and neighbouring Ramadi, where the US military is doubling is troop strength to 2 000.
An Iraqi government-backed delegation and leaders from Fallujah have been in contact since Wednesday, hoping to find a peaceful solution to the standoff, said Jawad al-Maliki, a member of Iraq's interim parliament.
"These negotiations are being pursued and until now we have not been informed of their results," Maliki said.
A spokesperson for Allawi's office has indicated that the talks "may be the last chance" for Fallujah to end the crisis peacefully.
Amid the disorder and violence, Iraqi and US officials are bent on restoring order to the country ahead of national elections promised by January - by force is necessary.
Previous discussions between the government and delegates from the Sunni Muslim hotspot collapsed in mid-October after Allawi threatened Fallujah with invasion if it did not surrender Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and other suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
City leaders insist that the Jordanian-born Zarqawi, wanted for a string of deadly attacks and beheading of hostages in Iraq, does not reside there.
- AFP