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9 US troops,100 Iraqis killed

REUTERS, Baghdad
The US military said yesterday nine of its troops were killed in an offensive against insurgents and foreign fighters in western Iraq, and guerrillas struck again in Baghdad, leaving at least five people dead.
Backed by air power, US Marines, sailors and soldiers have been trying to root out guerrillas in the rebellious Anbar province to weaken an insurgency that has escalated attacks since a new Iraq government was announced April 28. The US military estimated about 100 guerrillas were killed in the assault dubbed Operation Matador.
The assault, which entered its seventh day, is designed to root out guerrillas in one of their most active areas near the Syrian border.
Insurgents struck again in the capital when a suicide car bomber blew himself up next to an Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad, killing at least four people, police sources said.
The blast echoed across central Baghdad and thick black smoke rose from burning vehicles in what has become a daily scene since Iraq announced a cabinet.
In a second attack, insurgents hurled grenades at a police convoy in western Baghdad, killing one policeman.
Guerrilla suicide and car bombings have killed more than 400 people in violence that has piled pressure on Iraq's new leaders to deliver on promises of stability.
Although the bombings have targeted mostly police and security forces, Iraqi civilians have also suffered heavy losses.
In the oil refining town of Baiji, a car bomb blast killed five Iraqis on Friday evening, police said.
Two policemen and two civilians were killed in clashes in the town of Samarra on Saturday, police Captain Hashem al-Sulami said.
Iraqi officials hope the country's security forces will improve after two years of US training and eventually take over security.
But they can hardly defend themselves -- thousands have been killed -- and US troops still have to conduct major operations against guerrillas like the one in Anbar.
Four of the American troops killed were in an amphibian vehicle hit an explosive device on Wednesday, the military said.
The Anbar offensive is focused on an area near the Euphrates north and west of the town of Qaim, close to the Syrian border, which Iraqi officials say is used by insurgents to cross over into Iraq and carry out attacks.
Damascus denies Iraqi accusations that it allows guerrillas to enter Iraq from its border.
Marines launched several air strikes on targets on Friday, including a "terrorist" safe house, the military said. A second air raid targeted insurgents manning a vehicle checkpoint. The US military said Marines in Qaim witnessed clashes between rival guerrilla groups. That could not be independently confirmed, but officials in Anbar say militant followers of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, have been clashing with tribal groups.
Iraqi and US officials say military firepower is not enough to defeat the insurgents, stressing that intelligence is vital.
The acting Palestinian ambassador in Baghdad, Dalil Qussus, said he was surprised to see three Palestinians appear on a popular Iraqi television show that features suspects confessing to "terrorist" acts.
The Iraqi commentator said they planned a bombing that killed 12 people in eastern Baghdad on Thursday.
"There is no way under any circumstances that three brothers could commit this criminal act. It is impossible that the three brothers would return home to their apartment and wait for the police to catch them," said Qussus.
One of the three had a bruised eye.
The three brothers live in a section of Baghdad that has been inhabited by Palestinian refugees for decades.