Four more US marines were killed in action on Tuesday in western Iraq, the US military said on Wednesday, taking its death toll in the restive region to 14 in just over one week. "Four marines assigned to First Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in action July 6 in the Al Anbar province while conducting security and stability operations," the military said in a statement. The marines have now lost 14 men in the past nine days on various operations around Al-Anbar province. On Monday, two marines were killed in action and one died later from wounds received during an operation in the area. Unknown website later carried a statement attributed to Tawheed and Jihad group claiming responsibility for the deadly attack. "With God's help, about 100 of the Omar battle lions laid an ambush Monday for the soldiers of Satan, the Americans, in Al-Saqlawiya region, west of Baghdad," said the statement signed by Tawhid al Jihad's military wing. "Thanks be to God, the toll was two helicopters down, including an MH-47 Chinook, and two Humvees destroyed with their occupants on board," it said on the site. The authenticity of the claim is not verified. Meanwhile, projectiles exploded near the offices of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi on Wednesday, wounding five people, including a woman, as the government passed emergency security laws to crush the resistance. The attack, just hours before the caretaker government was to unveil tough measures to combat the 14-month-old resistance, was followed by a series of booms around the Iraqi capital, which had been relatively quiet since the return of sovereignty last week. The cause of the other explosions was not immediately clear. "These were projectiles. I do not know what kind but at around 9:00 am to 9:15 am they exploded in this area," said Mahmud Mushkool, an Iraqi police sergeant, speaking near Allawi's offices and residence. Three devices were fired, a second police officer said. At least one struck a house about 20 metres (yards) from Allawi's political party, the Iraqi National Accord, and his residence, which are about 500 metres away from the heavily fortified Green Zone, said police officer Saad Chanchul. Another projectile exploded on the road near the residence. Outside Allawi's offices, US soldiers in Humvees and Iraqi police had cordoned off the area. The premier was put under a death sentence last month in an audiotape posted in the name of al-Zarqawi, blamed by the Americans for much of the violence sweeping across Iraq. **PHOTO CAPTION*** U.S. Marines keep a lookout for resistance fighters in Falluja on July 1, 2004. (Reuters)