Violence in Iraq left nearly 50 people dead Monday in a suicide car bombing and clashes between Shiite militia and Iraqi security forces, a brutal contradiction of the prime minister's claim that bloodshed was decreasing.

The deaths followed a day of bombings and shootings on Sunday, when more than 60 people were killed across the country, from the northern city of Kirkuk to the capital Baghdad and down to the south in Basra. The dead included eight American soldiers, one of the deadliest weekends for the U.S. military in recent months....

The U.S. military said eight U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday and Sunday in and around Baghdad, seven of them by roadside bombs and one by gunfire. More than 2,600 U.S. military personnel have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press Count.

A marine from Connecticut was killed in combat Friday in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Saturday.

Cpl. Jordan C. Pierson, 21, of Milford, died during combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division in Plainville.

"It's an unusual circumstance," Gerstein said. "He is a registered Democrat. . . . If he's asked his party affiliation, he'll say a Democrat. Clearly he is running as an independent candidate. He's a petitioning candidate. I think he'll present himself as a senator for all of Connecticut."

"He absolutely should not be using the word 'independent,' " Mertens said. "Technically someone who petitions onto the ballot is unaffiliated -- not independent. He has no affiliation whatsoever with the Independent Party. That gets my dander up."

Asked how Bysiewicz describes Lieberman's candidacy, her spokesman, Dan Tapper, said "he remains a registered Democrat but is now running as a petitioning party candidate under the Connecticut for Lieberman Party name."