The White House said on Friday that President George W. Bush was saddened by Thursday's killings of 10 US marines in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq.

"We are saddened by the loss of lives, whether it is one soldier who loses his or her life or 10 or 11," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a news briefing.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the families, their loved ones. We are forever grateful for their service and sacrifice," McClellan said.

The Bush administration, launching the Iraq war in 2003, has vowed not to set a timetable to withdraw its troops out of Iraq despite mounting domestic pressure to do so as well as a persistent insurgency in Iraq.

More than 2100 US troops have been killed and over 10,000 wounded since the Iraq war.

Source: Xinhua