Suicide bomber kills 13 in Baghdad: Seven U.S. Marines die in combat in Western Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide car bomber linked to al-Qaida killed 13people in Baghdad today, the first anniversary of Saddam Hussein'scapture, and clashes resumed in Fallujah, a one-time insurgentstronghold that American forces believed they had conquered. SevenU.S. Marines died in combat in western Iraq.

The violence underlines the difficulties U.S.-led forces haveencountered in the year since Saddam's ouster in trying to end arampant insurgency. U.S. military commanders acknowledge theyinitially underestimated the strength of the insurgent backlash andsay Iraqi security forces are not yet up to secure the country.

The fighting in Anbar, a vast province including Fallujah andRamadi, was the deadliest for U.S. forces since eight Marines werekilled by a car bomb outside Fallujah on Oct. 30. The deaths broughtto nearly 1,300 the number of American troops killed in Iraq sincethe U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

In Baghdad, a militant in an explosives-laden car waiting in lineto enter the western Harthiyah gate of the heavily fortified GreenZone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and Iraq's interim government,detonated the vehicle as he drove toward the checkpoint, Iraqi policesaid.

Dr. Mohammed Abdel Satar of Baghdad's Yarmouk said 13 people werekilled and at least 15 wounded in the suicide blast.

Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq groupclaimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement posted on anIslamic Internet site regularly used by militants.

The international zone has been the scene of frequent attacks byinsurgents during the past 18 months, killing and wounding dozens ofpeople in car bombings or mortar barrages.

Shortly afterward, three explosions were heard in central Baghdad,but it was unclear whether any damages or casualties were caused.

Iraq's interim President Ghazi al-Yawer said in an interviewbroadcast today that the U.S.-led coalition was wrong to dismantlethe Iraqi security forces.

It would have been more effective to screen out former regimeloyalists than to rebuild from scratch, he added.

U.S. forces retook Fallujah from the insurgents in a bloody battlelast month in which hundreds died, including at least 54 Americans.At the time, U.S. commanders claimed the action had broken the backof the insurgency in the mainly Sunni Muslim areas of western Iraq.

On Sunday, American jets dropped 10 precision-guided missiles onrebel positions in Fallujah after insurgents fought running battleswith coalition forces.

It was unclear whether the latest Marine deaths were connectedwith those clashes.