4 U.S. Marines killed in Iraq’s Anbar province

Mosques attacked
On Saturday, gunmen attacked two Sunni mosques in the Iraqi capital.

Also Saturday, the western regional commander of the Iraqi Border Protection Force, Brig. Gen. Jawad Hadi al-Selawi, was killed in Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, police said.

Men in two cars sprayed gunfire at the Muhammad Rassulluallah mosque in western Baghdad shortly after midnight, shattering its windows and damaging its walls, police said. One guard was injured.

An hour later, gunmen stormed into the nearby Ashra al-Mubashara mosque, but fled when Iraqi police arrived, officials said.

Sectarian violence has escalated in Iraq in recent months, with Sunni radicals — including members of al-Qaida in Iraq — and Shiite militias staging tit-for-tat killings. Thousands from both sects have fled the country, according to Iraqi officials.

In Baghdad, six day laborers were wounded when a bomb exploded downtown in Tayaran Square, where the workers had gathered to wait for jobs. Three policemen were also wounded when a roadside bomb struck their patrol in northern Baghdad, police said.

More troops into Baghdad?
The attacks came a day after the head of the biggest Shiite party called for a greater security role for Iraqis in the country in place of Americans. The remarks by Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim run counter to U.S. plans to put more American soldiers on the streets of Baghdad to try to curb the surge in sectarian violence.

The U.S. plan calls for moving up to 5,000 additional American troops with armored vehicles and tanks into the capital. Some critics believe the move will undermine confidence among Iraqi forces and expose more U.S. soldiers to attacks by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.

Al-Hakim, the former commander of the feared Badr Brigade militia, has long complained the Americans have interfered with Iraqi forces' efforts to crack down on Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists. He said the surging violence was due to "being lax in hunting down terrorists and upholding the wrong policies in dealing with them."

Al-Hakim said Sunni extremists and Saddam Hussein loyalists were to blame for the violence.

However, he also endorsed the government's pledge to disband militias, including those affiliated with Shiite politicians.

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

Iran admits prisoners were beaten to death NBC: U.S. fired on al-Qaida targets in Yemen Iraqi official: Iranians seize oil well Mom of US hiker in Iran asks for 3 to be freed Newsweek: Is Iran playing games with jailed hikers? Pentagon: Insurgents intercepted spy videos Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: