Car bomb kills eight Marines, wounds nine in Iraq

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NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq -- A car bomb killed eight U.S. Marines west of Baghdad yesterday, the deadliest attack against the U.S. military in nearly six months. Marines pounded guerrilla positions on the outskirts of Fallujah, where American forces are gearing up for a major assault on the militant stronghold.

In Baghdad, another car bomb exploded outside an Arabic television network's offices, killing seven persons and injuring 19 in the biggest attack against a news organization since the occupation began last year.

It was a day in which at least 30 persons died in politically motivated violence across the country.

Late yesterday, the decapitated body of Japanese hostage Shosei Koda, 24, was found in an insurgent-infested neighborhood of Baghdad. The Japanese Foreign Ministry confirmed Mr. Koda's identity through fingerprints.

An al Qaeda-linked terrorist group led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi threatened to behead the Japanese backpacker unless Tokyo withdrew its soldiers from Iraq. Japan rejected that demand.

South of Baghdad, witnesses said a U.S. convoy came under attack, prompting Iraqi forces to open fire randomly and throw hand grenades, hitting three minibuses and three vans. At least 14 persons were killed, hospital officials said.

The Marines' deaths came when a car bomb went off next to a truck southwest of Baghdad, said Maj. Clark Watson of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Nine other Marines were wounded in the attack in western Anbar province, which includes Fallujah and other militant strongholds, the military said.

It was the largest number of U.S. military deaths in a single day since May 2, when nine U.S. troops were killed in separate mortar attacks and roadside bombings in Baghdad, Ramadi and Kirkuk.

American forces are preparing for a major assault on Fallujah in an effort to regain control of Sunni Muslim towns north and west of the capital ahead of crucial national elections due by Jan. 31.

Militants fired mortars at Marine positions outside Fallujah. U.S. troops responded with "the strongest artillery barrage in recent weeks," said Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert.