An estimated 40 insurgents have been killed in Iraq in a series of US air strikes.
A spokesperson for the US military said seven precision-guided air strikes were launched this morning at insurgents in the western province of Al-Anbar, near the Syrian border.
There were no Marine casualties.
The strikes came after at least 43 people were killed in attacks in Iraq over the past 24 hours as a spate of bomb attacks shattered a relative calm in Baghdad.
US marines backed by fighter jets and helicopter gunships launched the attack on several large groups of heavily armed insurgents who had set up checkpoints and were stopping civilian traffic near Karabilah.
Meanwhile, rebels in the capital carried out a spate of attacks despite Iraqi officials proclaiming the success of an anti-insurgent sweep dubbed Operation Lightning.
In the first incident, three police officers died and many more were injured in a suicide bombing.
A former Iraqi police commando blew himself up in a failed bid to assassinate the leader of the anti-insurgent Wolf Brigade in Baghdad.
Separately, just south of Baghdad, 11 people were killed and three injured when gunmen in two cars opened fire on a bus carrying construction workers from Hilla to the capital.
The two attacks come after an overnight attack, also in the capital, in which 11 people were killed and 29 people were wounded.
Over 800 people have been killed since late April when insurgents stepped up their attacks after the formation of the new Iraqi government.
