BAGHDAD, Iraq – A roadside bomb killed seven American soldiers in northwest Baghdad, and two Marines were killed in action in western Iraq yesterday, the deadliest day for American forces since a suicide attack last month, the American military said.

The soldiers with Task Force Baghdad were on patrol last night when their Bradley fighting vehicle hit the explosive, the military said in a statement. Everyone inside the Bradley was killed.

No other details were immediately available. But Iraq’s insurgents have frequently targeted American troops with crude explosives planted in roads and detonated remotely as patrols pass.

Two American Marines were killed in action yesterday in the volatile western Anbar province, the military said. The Marines typically do not give details of how or where their troops are killed for fear of compromising security.

The nine American deaths made it the highest single-day toll for the American military in Iraq since a suicide bombing at a mess tent in Mosul on December 21 killed 22 people, including 14 American soldiers and three American contractors.

The military said the names of the troops who died Thursday were being withheld until their families are notified.

Separately, Iraq extended a state of emergency by 30 days to battle insurgents whose attacks have surged ahead of this month’s elections, and the prime minister warned that he expected the number of assaults would only rise as voting day draws closer.

Just three weeks before the January 30 elections, the commander of American ground forces in Iraq acknowledged that security is poor in four of 18 Iraqi provinces. But Lieutenant General Thomas Metz told a briefing in the capital that delaying the vote would only increase the danger.

“I can’t guarantee that every person in Iraq that wants to vote, goes to a polling booth, and can do that safely,” General Metz said. “We’re going to do everything possible to create that condition for them, but we are fighting an enemy who cares less who he kills, when he kills, and how he kills. A delay in the elections just gives the thugs and terrorists more time to continue their intimidation, their cruelty, their brutal murders of innocent people.”

Yesterday was markedly quieter than the last four days, which had seen a string of assassinations, suicide car bombings, and other assaults that killed 90 people. But grisly discoveries were made: Police in the southern city of Basra found two charred and beheaded bodies in a house used by election officials.

Police also announced they found the bodies of 18 young Shiites killed last month while seeking work at an American base.

The state of emergency, originally announced two months ago, was extended for 30 days throughout the country except for the northern Kurdish-run areas, a government statement said. The decree includes a nighttime curfew and gives the government additional power to make arrests and launch military or police operations.

Prime Minister Allawi said he expected the number of attacks would rise before the January 30 vote and called the decision to prolong the state of emergency a precaution. He blamed former members of Saddam Hussein’s regime for the continuing violence.

“Saddam’s followers, who have intensely shed the blood of our people and army, are still in action clandestinely, allying with a bunch of criminals, murderers, and terrorists who are the enemies of our people and our progress,” Mr. Allawi said during a ceremony to mark the national Army Day holiday.

“Our army and police have become targets of these hateful forces that fear the formation of the people’s army and police.”

Mr. Allawi, a secular Shiite, is insisting the elections go forward, despite calls from some Sunni religious leaders for a boycott. Sunni Arab political parties have largely withdrawn from the race because of security fears, particularly in western Iraq. Some have sought a delay of the vote.

America strongly opposes a postponement. General Metz acknowledged American forces “continue to deal with violence and lawlessness in some areas,” specifically citing Nineveh, Anbar, Salahadin, and Baghdad provinces. But he said other areas were secure enough to allow the elections to go ahead.

Foreign ministers of neighboring countries issued a statement yesterday saying they “stood strongly behind the interim government of Iraq” and “urged all segments” of society to participate in the elections.

The election is expected to shift power to the Shiite Muslim community, an estimated 60% of the population that had been dominated by the Sunni Arab minority since modern Iraq was created after World War I.

The call was backed by Jordan, a Sunni-dominated neighbor that had previously supported postponing the election. King Abdullah II had also suggested the elections would produce an Iraq controlled by Shiites who would quickly align themselves with Iran, ruled by a Shiite theocracy.

But the Jordanian foreign minister, Hani al-Mulqi, insisted the elections be held as scheduled.

“From this podium, I call on all factions of the Iraqi people, young and old, men and women, to go to the polls to choose their representatives and draw their own future,” Mr. al-Mulqi said. Failing to do that “will leave the door open for others to choose for them.”

The charred bodies of the two beheaded Iraqi policemen were found in a house in Basra used by officials organizing the election, police said.

In the deaths of the 18 Iraqis seeking work with the Americans, police said the insurgents shot the young men – ranging in age from 14 to 20 – on December 8 after stopping two minibuses about 30 miles west of the volatile city of Mosul, 225 miles north of Baghdad.