Gunmen in Iraq kidnapped a Lebanese-American businessman today – the second US citizen seized this week in Baghdad – as the country’s almost daily routine of kidnapping and murder continued.

Eight American Marines were killed in fighting west of Baghdad today, and a car bomb killed at least seven people in an attack on an Arab television station in the capital.

US forces launched airstrikes against suspected militant bases in Fallujah and carried out probing attacks on the city’s outskirts, as they prepared for a major operation in the insurgent bastion that has become the symbol of Iraqi resistance.

Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi blamed coalition forces for negligence in their handling of security during the ambush of dozens of National Guardsmen at the weekend.