BAGHDAD,
Aug 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Few hours after U.S.
President George Bush boasted "progress" achieved in Iraq,
Iraqi resistance fighters attacked U.S. and British occupation forces
across Iraq.
In
Baghdad, two American soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack
on their armored Humvee vehicle, said Maj. Todd Mercer of the 82nd
Airborne Division.
Four
other U.S. soldiers were lightly injured in a mortar attack on a U.S.
base in ousted president Saddam Hussein's main palace in his hometown
of Tikrit, a military officer said Saturday, August 9.
"It
was a 60 millimeter mortar fired at a low trajectory into the
base," said Colonel James Hickey, commander of the Fourth
Infantry Division's first brigade, based in Tikrit.
The
four soldiers returned to duty after their injuries had been treated,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Hickey as saying.
Tikrit
has been ground zero in the hunt for Saddam, who has a
25-million-dollar price on his head.
Also,
a U.S. military base came under fire on the outskirts of Fallujah, a
bastion of anti-U.S. sentiment 50 kilometers west of Baghdad,
witnesses told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Saturday, August 9.
The
base came under attack around 10:15 pm (1815 GMT) Friday, when four
blasts were heard and smoke was seen rising from the grounds.
The
compound, on the outskirts of town, comes under regular late-night
mortar attack, as do other bases in the western province of Al-Anbar,
which, for many, has come to symbolize Iraqi resistance to the U.S.
occupation.
Meanwhile,
the U.S. troops arrested before dawn Saturday a former Saddam
Hussein-era security chief, General Shaban Mohammed Asmir, his brother
told AFP.
"They
sealed off the district at 5:30 am (0130 GMT) with eight Humvees and
two armored vehicles as well as two helicopters flying over the
sector," said former general Jamal Mohammed Asmir Mohammed.
The
occupation soldiers searched the home and "my brother was led out
without any resistance," he added.
The
U.S. military had no immediate comment on either event.
Fallujah
has been generally quiet since U.S. troops withdrew from the center of
the town in mid-July and handed over policing to Iraqis.
However,
three U.S. soldiers, three Iraqi police and a child were wounded
Tuesday in a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on a police
station.
Following
that attack, some 200 people gathered near the building to stage a
protest, chanting: "With our blood and with our soul, we will
defend you, Saddam!"
Britons
Attacked
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Iraqis
gather near a military vehicle as debris covers the street
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In
another development, clashes broke out between British troops and
Iraqis Saturday after a grenade was thrown at a British military truck
in the southern port city of Basra, witnesses said.
The
British truck came under attack at 9:15 am (0515 GMT) in front of a
gas station where a man hurled a grenade and the vehicle was set on
fire, said Ali Hussein, a taxi driver who had been filling up his car
with fuel at the time of the attack.
Four
British armored vehicles and three jeeps came to seal off the area,
while a crowd lobbed rocks at them.
The
soldiers fired shots in the air to ward them off and then started to
shoot off rubber bullets, wounding at least four Iraqis, including a
child, witnesses said.
The
crowd grew to more than 2,000 and shouted in anger over the gasoline
shortage in the city, they added.
The
British military said it was not aware of any grenade attacks, but
conceded there were protests around the city Saturday as tempers rose
over fuel shortages and lack of electricity in the sweltering port.
Basra
has until recently been free from anti-occupation attacks seen to the
north around Baghdad.
But
this month, British troops have come under increasing attack.
Four
Iraqis were wounded Wednesday, August 6, in an explosives attack
targeting a British convoy near Basra.
Progress
However,
Bush Friday lauded what he described as successes in Iraq, despite the
56 U.S. troops who have died in the 100 days since he declared the
fighting all but over.
"Iraq
is more secure. The economy of Iraq is beginning to improve," he
told reporters at his Texas ranch.
"We've
made a lot of progress in 100 days. And we're pleased with the
progress, but we know we've got a lot more work to do."
The
president paid tribute to the U.S. soldiers who have died in combat
since May 1, adding "we suffer when we lose life."
Bush
again refused to give an indication as to how long U.S. troops would
be in the country.
The
American president appointed one of his major political fundraisers,
Thomas Foley, to run Iraqi state-owned businesses and to draw up a
sweeping privatization plan.
