U.S. Marines Hit Mosque Filled With Worshippers

Marines in a fierce battle for this Sunni Muslim stronghold fired rockets that destroyed part of a wall surrounding a mosque compound filled with worshippers Wednesday, and witnesses said as many as 40 people were killed.

The strike came as worshippers had gathered for afternoon prayers, witnesses said. Temporary hospitals were set up in private homes to treat the wounded and prepare the dead for burial.

Until the mosque attack, reports had at least 30 Americans and more than 150 Iraqis dead in fighting for the Sunni Triangle cities of Ramadi and Fallujah since Sunday. With confirmation of the 12 dead Marines, the American death toll since the war was at least 626. Shiite-inspired violence has spread to key cities in Iraq.


Arab Rulers' Worst Fears on Iraq Come True

As U.S. forces battle on a new front in Iraq, Baghdad's Arab neighbors watch the escalating violence with alarm and a message that affords them only the grimmest satisfaction: "We told you so."

Arab leaders had said loudly and repeatedly that a U.S. war against Saddam Hussein would unleash chaos in multi-ethnic Iraq and the region and open a Pandora's box of radicalism.

With U.S.-led forces now battling Shi'ite Muslims in several cities, they now feel their ominous prophecy has come true.