Five US soldiers were killed when a bomb exploded under their military vehicle west of Baghdad today.
The explosive device was on a road in Fallujah and blew up when the vehicle ran over it, US Army Colonel Jill Morgenthaler said.
Witnesses said they also saw rebels use small arms fire to attack two civilian four-wheel drive cars in Fallujah, killing five people.
The cars were set on fire, said Safa Mohammedi, a local resident.
The identities of the victims, some of whom were wearing flak jackets, were not immediately known.
It was unclear whether the two attacks were related.
It was thought that eight men, possibly foreign nationals, were killed in the gun attack on the two vehicles.
Footage from Associated Press Television News showed a charred body of one of the dead men, and the vehicles in flames nearby.
Another resident, Abdul Aziz Mohammed, said angry crowds dragged the bodies through the streets, dismembered them and hanged some of the mutilated corpses.
“The people of Fallujah hanged some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep,” Mohammed said. “I saw it myself.”
One resident displayed what appeared to be dog-type tags taken from one body. Residents also said there were weapons in the cars.