7 Americans killed in Iraq attacks

Four US Marines were killed in fighting in Anbar province, and three soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq, the military said yesterday.
The four Marines assigned to Multi National Force West were killed Thursday while conducting combat operations in Anbar, a predominantly Sunni province west of Baghdad that has seen a recent drop in violence, according to a statement.
Three Task Force Lightning soldiers also were killed Thursday when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in the northern Ninevah province, the military said separately.
The deaths raised to at least 3,760 members of the US military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Violence also persisted against Iraqis on the Islamic day of rest.
A roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army patrol near Baqouba, killing one soldier and wounding two, while another roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded four others southeast of Baghdad, police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information.
Gunmen also opened fire on Sunni worshippers in a drive-by shooting following evening prayers late Thursday in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least three people and wounding four, police Col. Anwar Qadir said.
Anbar a vast desert province that stretches west from Baghdad to the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia has been a Sunni insurgent stronghold but attacks against US forces and Iraqis have tapered off since many Sunni tribal leaders joined forces with the United States against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The Iraqi government announced Thursday it was adding millions of dollars to Anbar province's budget to help rebuild the region.
The step came days after a surprise visit to by President Bush to Anbar, where he met top Iraqi officials as well as tribal leaders.
During a conference held Thursday in the provincial capital of Ramadi, 115km west of Baghdad, the government allocated additional $70 million to the Anbar budget, Interior Ministry official Col Tariq Mohammed Youssef said. He added that 6,000 jobs will be created for Anbar residents, although he did not give more specifics.
Another $50 million was allocated to compensate citizens who suffered from military operations.
The conference was attended by Iraqi Vice Presidents Tariq al-Hashimi and Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker as well as US presidential candidate Joe Biden, a Delaware Democrat.