Al Qaeda Front Group Behind Anbar Attack

An al Qaeda front group claimed responsibility Saturday for a suicide attack that killed three U.S. Marines and about 20 other people in Anbar province.

The Islamic State of Iraq posted the claim on a Web site, saying the bomber blew himself up among a gathering of the "heads of apostasy" - a reference to U.S.-backed Sunni tribal leaders who were attending a meeting Thursday in Karmah, 20 miles west of Baghdad.

"They sold their souls to the American devil for a cheap price," the statement said. "Therefore, the soldiers of the Islamic State of Iraq have launched an open war against them."

Among the dead were the mayor of Karmah, several major tribal figures, two interpreters and the commander of Marines in the area, Lt. Col. Max A. Galeai of Pago Pago, American Samoa, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

It could not be determined if the statement was actually issued by the Islamic State, which is an al Qaeda-controlled coalition of Sunni extremist groups.

But U.S. officials had suspected al Qaeda was behind the attack in an effort to take revenge on Sunni community leaders who have turned against the terror movement and cooperated with U.S. and Iraqi authorities.

Al Qaeda used to hold sway across wide areas of the vast Anbar province, the heartland of Iraqi's Sunni Arab community and former center-stage of the Sunni insurgency against U.S.-led coalition forces.

The Karmah attack happened two days before U.S. officials planned to formally hand over security responsibility for Anbar to the Iraqis. U.S. authorities postponed the ceremony Friday because of forecast sandstorms, which struck Anbar and areas of western Baghdad as predicted Saturday.

Also Saturday, the U.S. command said American and Iraqi soldiers stepped up pressure this weekend on al Qaeda and other Sunni militants across northern Iraq.

Two militants were killed in a gunfight in Sharqat, about 170 miles north of Baghdad, the military said in a statement. One of the dead was identified as a wanted member of a network that carries out bombings, the military said.

Eight others were apprehended in the raids.

The third suspected militant was killed Saturday in nearby Kirkuk during a raid on a cell believed to have carried out kidnappings.

A U.S. military statement said troops opened fire after an armed man refused to surrender and began "to move quickly with his weapon into a confrontational position."

Three others were detained Friday in the northern city of Mosul, including an alleged leader of an "illegal terrorist court" that meted out punishment and supervised suicide bombers, the U.S. military said.

A suspect believed to have ties to senior al Qaeda in Iraq figures was picked up Saturday in Bulayj, about 60 miles southwest of Mosul, the U.S. said.

Al Qaeda remains active in Sunni areas of northern Iraq despite suffering severe setbacks in Baghdad, not only by U.S. and Iraqi forces but also due to pressure from Shiite militiamen who forced thousands of Sunnis from mixed areas of the capital during sectarian warfare in 2006.