U.S. forces in Iraq come under 15-20 attacks daily

FALLUJAH, Iraq, September 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. forces fired on Iraqi security personnel chasing gunmen in this flashpoint town early Friday, September 12, killing 10 and wounding five in the second friendly-fire incident in two days, according to Iraqi police sources.

Angry crowds of residents gathered outside the governor's office and police headquarters to protest the deaths, which came after U.S. troops killed one Iraqi policeman and wounded another Wednesday, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

U.S. military spokesmen could not confirm reports of the latest shooting in the Sunni Muslim stronghold 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad which has seen persistent anti-U.S. attacks since U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein in April.

While violence flared again in Fallujah, the determination of U.S. forces to end unauthorized armed patrols by Iraqi militia in the central Shiite holy city of Najaf faced its first major test with crowds turning out for weekly prayers.

The shooting in Fallujah shortly after midnight Thursday was one of the most serious incidents in the restive city.

Police chief Qahtan Adnan Hamad said 10 members of the Iraqi Facilities Protection Services were killed and five Iraqi policemen were wounded by U.S. fire.

The 15 had given chase in two vehicles after gunmen in a BMW opened fire on the governor's headquarters in the town center, district patrol chief Lieutenant Colonel Jalal Sabri told AFP.

When they reached the Jordanian Red Crescent hospital to the north of the town, they ran into U.S. soldiers who opened fire on them, he said. Hospital staff said several of the US rounds had hit the hospital.

The incident was one of several recent violent episodes around Fallujah, where tensions have boiled since U.S. forces shot dead at least 16 demonstrators shortly after Saddam was overthrown.

U.S. soldiers killed two Iraqis and wounded a third Thursday night after their car failed to stop at a checkpoint east of Fallujah, according to witness Mohsen Ali.

He said the passengers, sons of a Sunni tribal chief, were heading from Fallujah for Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, and did not see the newly installed checkpoint. U.S. military officials had no report of the incident.

Two hours earlier, a soldier was hurt west of Fallujah when a stalled American convoy came under attack from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and small-arms fire, said U.S. spokesman Sergeant Danny Martin.

A U.S. vehicle set ablaze after an army convoy was attacked

Witnesses said the late-afternoon battle raged for about 90 minutes in the town of Khaldiyah. They said several U.S. troops were wounded, some seriously, but the U.S. military would not confirm this.

A witness earlier reported seeing another U.S. soldier wounded as his military vehicle drove over an explosive device on the highway linking Fallujah to the the Iraqi capital. The U.S. military could not confirm this, either.

In Najaf, leading Shiite scholars headed to shrines around the city for the main weekly Muslim prayers as discussions continued on U.S. orders banning unauthorized Iraqis from carrying weapons on the street.

Firebrand anti-U.S. scholar Moqtada Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia has threatened to defy the Americans to provide protection to its leader, was due to give the sermon at Najaf's twin town of Kufah.

The sermon at Najaf's main shrine, the Tomb of Imam Ali - scene of a massive car bombing which killed 83 people two weeks ago - was expected to be given by a scholar from a rival Shiite faction, the Iran-backed Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

Militiamen from both factions took to the streets to provide security after the bombing, although they kept a low profile Thursday after U.S. commanders warned that their tolerance was at an end and that they were ready to use force to disarm any unauthorized gunmen on the street.

Sources at the office of U.S.-backed governor Haidar Mehdi Mattar al-Mayali said local police would be in charge of searching the faithful and ensuring security during the prayers.

A new 400-strong shrine protection force that began work around the Tomb of Imam Ali under police supervision this week was expected to take charge there.

Efforts by the governor to win all sides' support for an expanded protection force including militiamen to head off a showdown with the Mehdi Army had yet to bear fruit just hours before the prayers.