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Gunmen kill construction workers in Iraq

U.S., Iraqi troops launch operation in western part of country

Relatives of a slain Iraqi construction worker mourn outside Baquba hospital's morgue Wednesday.

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Gunmen opened fire on a minibus northeast of Baquba on Wednesday, killing eight Shiite construction workers, Iraqi police said.

The attack occurred in the town of Abu Sayda.

In western Iraq, about 2,000 U.S. troops and 500 Iraqi soldiers launched an operation Wednesday to flush out suspected insurgents and stabilize the region before the December 15 elections, the U.S. military said.

Operation Iron Hammer is targeting the area near the Euphrates River town of Hit, about 106 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad.

The Hai al Becker region is considered a safe area for al Qaeda in Iraq and a center for the manufacture of car and roadside bombs. It's also believed to be a stopping point for insurgents traveling down the Euphrates from Syria into Iraq.

U.S and Iraqi troops established a security presence in Hit during a July operation. They discovered a score of weapons caches in the region but found few suspected insurgents.

Response to kidnappings

Germany's new leader has condemned the apparent kidnapping of a German archaeologist and her driver.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the government was doing "everything in its power" to secure the release of Susanne Osthoff, 43, and her driver, who have been missing since Friday. But Merkel vowed not to be blackmailed by kidnappers. (Read latest)

Two videotapes show the apparent separate kidnappings of Osthoff and her driver, and of a group of four Western aid workers.

One, obtained by German public television network ARD, shows what appears to be Osthoff and her driver blindfolded and surrounded by three masked gunmen.

The other tape, aired by Arabic-language TV news channel Al-Jazeera on Tuesday, shows four men affiliated with the Christian Peacemaker Teams giving their names and ages. According to Al-Jazeera, the group that issued the tape calls itself the Swords of Justice and claims the four men are spies working under cover of "the Christian Peace group." (Watch the hostage footage -- 2:25)

A spokesman for the Christian Peacemaker Teams rejected the spy allegation, saying the men are "committed peace workers."

The Christian group identified the men as Thomas W. Fox, 54, of the United States; Dr. Norman Frank Kember, 74, of Britain; James Loney, 41, of Canada; and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a Canadian who has been studying in New Zealand. (More details)

Other developments

President Bush outlined his administration's Iraqi strategy in a speech Wednesday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The White House also released a 35-page declassified document mapping out the national plan for victory. (Full story)

Japan's Cabinet will decide next week to extend its humanitarian mission in Iraq but still may withdraw troops as soon as next May, The Associated Press reported, citing the Kyodo News agency. (Full story)

CNN's Octavia Nasr contributed to this report.

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