A small Iraqi boy sleeps on the floor as U.S. soldiers search his house for "weapons"

BAGHDAD, September 15 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - One U.S. soldier was killed Monday, September 15, when his unit came under a rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad, as occupation forces gunned down an Iraqi civilian who mistaken them for thieves, tried to prevent them from storming his house.

U.S. specialist Anthony Reinoso said the soldier, from the 1st Armored Division, was fatally wounded in the attack and died of his wounds after being evacuated to the 28th Combat Support Hospital.

He added that the name of the soldier had been withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

Meanwhile, American occupation forces had escaped two attacks near the central Iraqi town of Baqubah that left one Iraqi civilian dead and another wounded, police and witnesses said Monday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The casualties occurred in a bomb attack Sunday on an American convoy near the town, 60 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, according to police Lieutenant Haidar Abbas.

He said a makeshift explosive device went off near a car driven by local resident Hassan Ali Ahmad, who was following the American military convoy, adding the blast killed him outright and wounded a passenger in the vehicle.

Earlier, three rockets were fired at an American patrol in the town of Mafrak west of Baqubah but missed their targets, residents said.

An American soldier was killed and three others were injured Sunday when their vehicle came under attack in Fallujah.

On the same day, the U.S. army announced that 75 soldiers have been killed in Iraqi resistance operations since Bush declared an end to major combat operations in May.

While it argued that only 667 of its troops have been wounded in Iraq, the British daily The Observer said it obtained documents indicating that as many as 6,000 U.S. servicemen have been medically evacuated from Iraq, including more than 1500 who have been wounded, many seriously.

Iraqi Civilian Killed

In another development, an Iraqi civilian, Sami Hassan Saref, was shot by American occupation forces who were attempting to enter his house, a witness said.

Ahmad Mansur Karim, a shopkeeper in Mikdadya, 45 kilometers west of Baquba, said U.S. troops were conducting an operation and had begun to search Saref's house.

He added that Seref mistook the U.S. troops for thieves, pulled out a rifle to defend his family but was immediately gunned down.

Fijian Mercenaries

Also in Iraq, the first batch of 485 former Fiji soldiers were Monday on their way to the war-ravaged country to join a private armed security force, a leading chief said.

The 80 former soldiers, all linked to the Fiji Peacekeeping and Action Trustee Association, left Fiji Sunday.

Few details of the contract with London-based Global Risks Strategies International were available and the government was unwilling to comment on the deployment.

A former colonel and association member, Sakiusa Raivoce, organized the deployment of the former soldiers, many of whom recently served in the now discontinued United Nations peacekeeping operations in Lebanon.

A paper written by Raivoce for government security officials said the deployment had bought relief to hundreds of experienced peacekeepers who were now unemployed.

"There are some political and diplomatic norms that have to be addressed and clarified and it is hoped that the government will be more supportive of recruiting effort for there are a lot of benefits for the ordinary Fijians who are trying to make ends meet here in Fiji," the briefing paper said.

But there were unanswered questions over the status of the Fijians, Raivoce said in the briefing paper.

Because the ex-servicemen were traveling as a group to Iraq and carrying Fiji passports, it was important to know the government's position if there were any killings by the ex-servicemen during their stay in Iraq, "be it in self-defense or otherwise".

Attorney General and Acting Home Affairs Minister Qoriniasi Bale would make no comment on the deployment Monday.

Great Council of Chiefs chairman and former army commander Epeli Ganilau confirmed the first group left Sunday.

"It is an excellent opportunity for employment but the situation on the ground will be very different from their peacekeeping experience," he told AFP.

Privates will be paid 1,300 U.S. dollars a month while the highest paid will be lieutenant colonels on 2,400 dollars a month. Initial contracts will be for six months but they can be extended.

The Peacekeepers Association has a controversial history in Fiji after it organized a petition last year demanding extra money for 15,000 former Fiji peacekeeping soldiers.

They also drew up a petition demanding the removal of the Fiji Military Forces head Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama who had been the martial law head during a coup in 2000. The military detained several members amid fears of a second military mutiny.

Last December Fiji major military operation in Lebanon ended amidst concerns over what thousands of demobbed soldiers would do and niggling security fears as former peacekeepers played key roles in the 1987 and 2000 coups.