A U.S. soldier directs a crowd back from the site of the explosion

BAGHDAD, May 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - At least six Iraqis were killed Thursday, May 1, in a fire at a gas station in central Baghdad, which some witnesses said was ignited by American firing.

An employee at the Karama Hospital who helped evacuate the wounded said one of the wounded reported hearing shots fired at a gas tank just before the fire broke out, Agence France-Presse. (AFP) reported.

Witnesses told Al-Jazeera correspondent that American forces had opened fire at the gas station, sparking off the huge blast.

A thin column of smoke and orange flames were still seen several hours after the incident and rescue workers feared more people could be trapped in the blaze.

Several fire engines were fighting the fire as U.S. troops prevented Iraqis from nearing the place.

Earlier in the day, seven U.S. soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack at their base in the Iraqi city of Falluja , where American forces shot dead 18 people during anti-occupation protests this week

The attack came on the same day U.S. President George W. Bush was to declare "the major combat operations" in Iraq over.

U.S. Officials Meet Iraqi leaders

Meanwhile, U.S. officials pledged Thursday to assist in rebuilding postwar Iraq at a meeting with Iraqi political leaders trying to thrash out how to set up an interim government.

"We will stay with the Iraqis until they can consolidate a new order... that will put Iraq firmly on the path towards democracy, stability and prosperity," said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy overseeing Iraq 's political development.

He and U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state Ryan Crocker met with leaders of five former opposition groups on how to form an interim authority within one month to fill the political void after the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9.

"We... agreed that the process for selecting this government has to be as representative as possible and that the government ought to be characterised by structures that reflect separation of power," said Khalilzad.

"I told them that the United States is anxious for the formation of this government, we have absolutely no interest in ruling Iraq . We regard Iraq 's success as our success," he added.

The meeting was attended by Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), his opposite number from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Jalal Talabani, along with Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) who has backing from sections of the U.S. government.

Also on hand were Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, deputy head of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI), and Iyad Allawi, leader of the Iraqi National Accord Movement, a secular group.

The five held an initial meeting in Baghdad on Wednesday, April 30.

"We discussed the steps needed to fill the political, administrative and security vacuum," Barzani told AFP.

"The meetings will continue until we reach results," he added, without saying when the next encounter was due.

"The interim government will take its legitimacy from the upcoming congress. The government has to reflect the composition of the Iraqi people," he said.

A U.S.-led conference on Monday, April 28, brought together around 250 delegates who agreed on a one-month timetable to form an interim government although it was not clear when the United States would hand over power to it.