IRAQ - Dec 1 - Ten US Marines Killed In Falluja.

Ten US Marines conducting a foot patrol at a factory outside Falluja are killed by an insurgent bomb in one of the deadliest attacks on US forces in Iraq this year. The deaths came as Pres Bush struggles to boost waning US public support for the war, and as a growing US troop-casualty toll has fueled calls by critics for a timetable to withdraw troops. The attack was one of the worst single incidents to hit US Marines in the war. Military officials said another 11 Marines were wounded in the blast, which was caused by an "improvised explosive device" fashioned from four large artillery shells. Seven of those wounded have been able to return to duty, the military said in a statement released in Falluja. The explosion occurred as the Marines were on a foot patrol in the courtyard of a factory located southwest of Falluja - long a hotbed for the insurgency in the late afternoon on Dec 1, said a defense official at the Pentagon who asked not to be named. The official declined to identify the type of factory. "We are saddened by the loss of life, whether it's one soldier who loses his or her life, or 10 or 11, we are saddened o hear that news", White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "Our heart and prayers go out to the families, their loved ones paid the ultimate sacrifice for an important cause and we are forever grateful for their service and sacrifice", he said. The military statement said that Marines "continue to conduct counterinsurgency operations throughout Falluja and surrounding areas to provide a secure environment for the national elections, December 15". Iraqi voters choose a new government in those elections, which the Bush administration hopes will help stabilise the country. The Pentagon's official tally of US military deaths in the war was 2,125, with nearly 16,000 more wounded in combat. The incident near Falluja occurred a day after Bush outlined vision for victory in Iraq, in a speech that acknowledged the US military has sustained "setbacks" in the campaign. The US has roughly 160,000 troops in Iraq, having built up the force to help provide extra security for the elections.