U.S. forces in Iraq are on guard as Iraqi resistance is gaining momentum

WASHINGTON , May 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A U.S. soldier patrolling the streets in the Iraqi capital was shot in the head and wounded late Sunday, May 4, by an unidentified Iraqi civilian, the U.S. military announced.

The serviceman from the 3rd Infantry Division was taken to a military field hospital and was reported there in stable condition, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted officials at the U.S. Central Command as saying.

No details of the incident, which U.S. military officials said was being investigated, have been provided.

The assault, which follows two similar attacks in other parts of Iraq , underscores continued resistance to U.S. forces in the country, just days after U.S. President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat operations there.

On Saturday, May 3, several Iraqis fired rifles at an 82nd Airborne Division convoy near the central city Fallujah, the site of earlier violent anti-American demonstrations, according to the command.

Soldiers from the convoy returned fire and proceeded on their route. No U.S. personnel were injured, the command said.

On the same day, two Iraqis, who were later detained, fired at a marine patrol near the town of As Samawah without hitting anyone.

"Despite the danger, coalition forces remain dedicated to setting the conditions throughout Iraq so that the delivery of humanitarian aid and infrastructure repair can continue," the command said in a statement.

Enquiry Into Killing of Iraqi Boy

In another development, the British army has opened an enquiry into the fatal shooting of an Iraqi boy in what appears to have been an "accident" involving a British soldier, the BBC News Online reported Monday.

Ali Salim, 14, died on Saturday after being hit at close range near a school used to house British soldiers of the Queen's Dragoon Guards in a suburb of the southern city of Basra .

"I can confirm we are aware of a tragic incident that took place in Basra on Saturday, it is investigated by the Royal military police. There is no further information at this stage," a defence ministry spokesman was quoted as saying.

"It was an unfortunate, tragic incident which resulted in the death of an Iraqi boy, but I can't say more," he added.

A doctor at Basra 's teaching hospital who treated him told the BBC he had suffered a single bullet wound to the abdomen fired from very close range.

Meanwhile, a nine-year-old Iraqi girl who lost both her legs in a U.S. bomb attack on her house in Baghdad is due to arrive Monday in Malaysia for treatment, an official said Monday.

"Yasmine Wa'adi is being flown to Kuala Lumpur and will receive medical treatment at a private hospital," Isa Nikmat, a spokesman for the Malaysian government told AFP.

Isa said the Chinese Maternity Hospital here had offered to operate on her injuries and cover the expenses of her stay at the hospital. She may also be fitted with prosthetic limbs.

Yasmine, who is accompanied by her father, was expected to arrive late Monday onboard a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight, he said.

The U.S.-led troops came under stringent criticism for the killing of Iraqi children and civilians although they were bragging about their "precision bombs."

ALi Ismael Abbas, a 12-year-old Iraqi boy, hit headlines on April 8 after a U.S. missile obliterated his home and most of his family, leaving him orphaned, badly burned and blowing off both his arms.