At least 22 people, including eight US marines were killed today in the bloodiest attack on American forces in Iraq in almost seven months.
As troops prepared for a major assault to capture the rebel towns of Ramadi and Falluja, violence flared across Iraq ahead of the offensive, which is expected in the coming days.
As US planes and artillery pounded Falluja in the country's central Sunni Muslim heartland, at least seven people were killed by a suspected car bomb outside the Al Arabiya television office in Baghdad.
Separately, seven Iraqis died in clashes with US troops in an area dubbed the triangle of death southwest of the capital. Some 14 people wounded in the clashes when gunmen attacked US soldiers raiding buildings.
The incident in which seven US marines were killed occured in the restive western province of Anbar, which includes Falluja and Ramadi, but gave no details. Nine marines were also wounded, it said.
Witnesses said earlier they had seen three US vehicles burning on a road east of Falluja. It is not clear if it was the location where the marine casualties were incurred.
The deaths bring to 858 the number of US troops killed in combat. The total number of US troop deaths, including accidents and other causes, is now almost 1,120.
US marine commanders said yesterday they were preparing for a major assault on Falluja and Ramadi. The aim is to crush guerrillas and root out Arab militants led by declared al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
At least a dozen air strikes hit southeastern Falluja, witnesses said. US marine spokesman Lieut Lyle Gilbert said marines on the edge of Falluja had come under mortar fire from insurgents and called in artillery support.
He described the action the "most consistent and drawn out artillery barrage in recent days", but did not mark the beginning of the long-anticipated US offensive.
In Baghdad, Al Arabiya said seven people were killed and 16 wounded in the blast outside its office.
Officials could not immediately confirm the toll. Najwa Qassem, senior Arabiya correspondent in Baghdad, said a suspected car bomb had exploded in the parking lot but was whether the television station was the intended target.
The satellite channel is majority Saudi-owned. It has often been attacked on Web sites used by Islamist militant groups for its perceived pro-Western stance in the Arab world.
Last month, an Internet statement purporting to be from Zarqawi's group had threatened attacks against Al Arabiya.