13 U.S. Troops Dead In Violent Weekend

Iraq: Four Killed By Hostile Fire, Five Marines Dead In Truck Accident

(CBS/AP)  The Five Marines were killed and one was injured when the seven-ton U.S. military truck rolled over in a flash food. The military said it appeared to be an accident and "not a result of enemy action."

Three Marines and one sailor also were killed by hostile fire elsewhere in the volatile province, the military said Monday, the largest number of American deaths in a single attack in more than a month.

The explosion in Baghdad that killed 30 occurred about 8 p.m. near the al-Shroofi mosque in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Shaab, police Capt. Ali al-Obaidi said. The truck, which was carrying dates, was driven by a suicide bomber, he said.

Iraqi police also reported a dramatic attack on a Shiite family in Baghdad's Dora district, saying four gunmen charged into a home, lined up a brother, two sisters, and an uncle against a wall and shot them dead.

The father of the family, a grocery shop owner, had been killed six months earlier by gunmen in the same neighborhood, one of the most dangerous in the capital. The mother was visiting relatives when the attack occurred on Sunday, police said.

Sectarian violence has escalated since a Feb. 22 bombing of an important Shiite shrine in Samarra and reprisal attacks against Sunni institutions

The U.S. military statement did not provide more details about the deaths of the U.S. troops by hostile fire in Anbar. It was the largest number of Americans killed in an attack since Feb. 22, when four soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb near Hawija, 150 miles north of Baghdad.

Sunni and Kurdish politicians have called for the Shiite bloc to replace al-Jaafari as its nominee. Last weekend, two prominent Shiite politicians joined calls for the prime minister to step aside — a sign that al-Jaafari's support is cracking.

Rice and Straw, who arrived Sunday for a surprise, two-day visit, made clear they are frustrated with the slow pace of talks on a new government and said the country needs a strong prime minister as quickly as possible.

At a news conference before departing Monday, both Rice and Straw were careful to avoid specifically calling for al-Jaafari to be shunted aside. But Rice said the next prime minister must be a "strong leader" capable of unifying the people of this fractured land.

"We have emphasized, Secretary Rice and myself, time and again that who becomes nominated and elected ... including the prime minister is a matter of sovereign decisions by the sovereign parliament," Straw said.

But he added "somebody has to fill these positions and fill them quickly and we've urged those we have been speaking to do so."

Both Rice and Straw spoke of the need for the next government to curb the power of sectarian militias.

"You have to have the state with a monopoly of power," Rice said. "We have sent very strong messages" that there must be "a reining in of militias."

Rice and Straw said they set no deadlines, and there were no immediate signs of progress following the string of meetings the two held Sunday with Iraqi politicians and ethnic and religious power brokers.

Some Iraqi leaders said they welcomed the help from Rice and Straw.

"When this becomes so difficult and when the situation cannot wait, any intervention that serves the (national) interest and helps save the country from bloodbath ... could be useful," said Naseer al-Ani of the Iraqi Islamic Party.

Others called it meddling.

"I think that their interference is bad, and it further complicates issues because this is an Iraqi matter," said Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish politician.