Six Marines Killed in Western Iraq Bomb Attacks

Six American Marines were killed in Iraq Friday as a result of bomb blasts in attacks by insurgents in western Iraq as pre-election violence continued to escalate in that war torn country.

Meanwhile, American forces killed 29 insurgents as they continued their attempts to clean up insurgent groups prior the October 15 vote on Iraq's constitution.

Another problem in Iraq: with just eight days to go before the referendum on the constitution, copies of the document have not been distributed through the country. In fact, hardly any copies have been given to the population at large at all. Only a few neighborhoods in Baghdad had even distributed the document.

'Some people are excited to take it. Others are refusing to touch it,' Mohammed Ali, a shopkeeper in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Saydiya told the Associated Press. 'I know some merchants who have refused to accept copies for distribution because they fear retaliation by the insurgents,' Ali added.

The United States has launched two offenses in western Iraq against insurgents in an attempt to cut down violence before the October 15 elections. One is called Operation Iron Fist, the other Operation River Gate.

Two of the Marines killed Thursday by a roadside bomb just outside the town of Qaim near the Syrian border during operation Iron Fist.

The other four Marines were killed by a roadside bomb in Karmah not far from Fallujah. The six deaths raised the total number of American troops killed during the invasion and occupation of Iraq to 1,950.