U.S. soldiers take position amid fears of the so-called Iraqi 'resistance day' (AFP)

Additional Reporting By Subhy Haddad, IOL Correspondent

BAGHDAD, November 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As Baghdad was semi-paralyzed Saturday, November 1, amid fears of new deadly attacks on the so-called "resistance day," two U.S. occupation soldiers were killed and two others injured in the Iraqi city of Mosul, 370kms north of Baghdad.

A U.S. convoy ran over a roadside explosive device at around 7:30 a.m. (04:30 GMT), causing the casualties, Al-Jazeera reported.

Two US soldiers were killed and two others wounded in the bomb attack, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the U.S. military as confirming.

Three U.S. soldiers and eight Iraqis were killed in separate attacks rocking a number of Iraqi cities Friday, October 31.

Meanwhile, numerous Baghdadis stayed away Saturday from work and kept their children out of school, fearing a repetition of the deadly spiral of indiscriminate attacks that plagued the Iraqi capital recently and claimed lives of innocent Iraqis.

A number of police centers, banks, schools, universities, offices and even Churches in Baghdad have received warnings by unknown groups, threatening employees, students and civilians not to report to duty Saturday or else face armed attacks on those installations, IslamOnline.net learnt.

The U.S. State Department, for its part, warned of a threat to civil aviation in addition to increasing attacks on foreign targets in Iraq, reported AFP.

"There is credible information that terrorists have targeted civil aviation in Iraq," the U.S. State Department argued.

"There have been increased attacks in Baghdad, including at hotels, the U.N. headquarters, the International Committee of the Red Cross and several foreign missions," it added. 

The U.S. consular office in Baghdad issued a similar statement reporting threats of possible missile attacks on aircraft.

On Friday, October 31, the office said U.S. citizens should take extra precautions on November 1 and 2.

"There are a number of rumors of a 'day resistance' throughout Baghdad on Saturday and Sunday," the office said, urging Americans to increase their "security awareness."

Exactly six months after U.S. President George W. Bush declared an end to "major combat" operations, U.S. troops in Iraq are still plunged in resistance attacks with a death toll at 120 servicemen before Saturday’s fatalities, according to a Pentagon count.

The toll represents six more deaths from hostile fire than during the main six-week offensive, which started on March 20.

Several Arrests

Fears of fresh attacks left Iraqi school rooms almost empty

Taking more security measures before the "resistance day," U.S. forces and Iraqi police arrested Friday an unspecified number of foreigners, including Arabs, Iranians and Pakistanis, according to the Iraqi An-Nahdda newspaper of Saturday.

It quoted a unanimous U.S. captain as saying: "The terrorist group comprising Arabs, Pakistanis and Iranians was arrested in a northern Baghdad district while planning to plant time-bombs at Baghdad markets and densely-populated civilian areas."

"Some of the arrested group, carrying illegal documents, have confessed that they were on their way to carry out subversive acts and explosions in different parts of Baghdad," according to the U.S. officer.

He added that the Iraqi police have played a major role in gathering information and monitoring the movements of the said "terrorist group" and a joint (U.S. and Iraqi police) force was formed to keep track of its movements.

"When the zero hour came at dawn Friday, the joint force took the said group by surprise and arrested all its members," he said.

Iraqi police have also rounded up a number of persons, who allegedly carried out explosions and planted explosive charges in Iraqi streets, schools and offices over the past few days.

Director General of an Iraqi Police force, Lt. Colonel Thamir Saadoun, told the paper that his officers arrested a number of persons who were behind an attack on the Interior Ministry building on October 29th.

He added that his police force have discovered a car containing documents reaffirming the purchase of weapons and plans to kill policemen in Baghdad.