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.
Later, a Marine Harrier jet bombed a guerrilla mortar position inside Fallujah, then strafed it with machine-gun fire, Lt. Gilbert said. He had no reports of militant casualties.
Crowds of Iraqis peered skyward as two warplanes circled over the rebel-held city, where large explosions rumbled yesterday afternoon.
“This is very painful for Fallujah. I think they’re destroying the town and killing families there,” said Saadoun Mohamed, 35, a driver near Fallujah.
“It’s very complicated. I don’t know how to solve this problem,” he said through a translator.
Clashes between U.S. troops and militants also occurred yesterday in Ramadi, west of Fallujah. Two policemen were killed and four Iraqis injured in the crossfire, said Dr. Saleh al-Duleimi of the Ramadi General Hospital.
In Baghdad, the car bomb exploded outside the office of the Al Arabiya television network, a satellite broadcaster based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Seven persons were killed and 19 injured, police and hospital officials said.
Three bodies, including one of a woman, were mangled beyond recognition, said Al Arabiya correspondent Najwa Qassem. It could not be determined whether any of those bodies were of Al Arabiya employees. However, she confirmed that one guard and one administrative worker were among the dead.
The blast collapsed the first floor of the building, where staffers were meeting, said Saad al-Husseini, a correspondent of MBC, a sister channel of Al Arabiya based in the same building.
Employees “were trapped between fire and the shattering shards of glass,” he said. That “led to the high number of casualties. We were all there.”
Al Arabiya’s managing editor, Abdulrahman al-Rashed, said seven persons remained missing.
A militant group calling itself the “1920 Brigades” claimed responsibility for the attack, blasting Al Arabiya as “Americanized spies speaking in Arabic tongue” in a statement posted on a Web site. The station is owned by Saudi investors.
“We have threatened them to no avail that they are the mouthpiece of the American occupation in Iraq,” the statement said, warning of more attacks against this “treacherous network.” It was impossible to verify the claim’s authenticity.
Mr. al-Rashed, an outspoken critic of Islamic militants and terror attacks, said the station will continue to operate from Iraq.
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