US soldier killed in fierce Iraqi resistance

AN American soldier was killed and three wounded yesterday in separate roadside bombings which prompted a fierce eight-hour firefight where US attack aircraft, tanks and helicopters battled Iraqi resistance fighters.

The American military also announced the arrest of 92 people in a series of raids aimed at those responsible for attacks against Americans north of the capital. One of the raids included the largest joint operation between US military police and about 200 American-trained Iraqi police.

The two bombings hit military convoys in the dangerous Euphrates river towns of Habaniyah and Khaldiyah at about the same time.

The bombing in Khaldiyah prompted the firefight in which two soldiers and one civilian were injured, according to Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Swisher of the 1st Infantry Division.

The Khaldiyah fighting began at 9am when an American patrol was hit by roadside bombs, then insurgents opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, Swisher said. "The patrol returned fire and support was called in," he said.

Americans began withdrawing at about 5.30pm from the al-Qurtan neighbourhood on the north side of Khaldiyah, scene of several previous firefights between the US military and guerrilla fighters.

Angry residents cursed at reporters who entered the zone after the battle. Swisher said 14 people were detained.

The bombing in Habaniyah took place at 9.10am as a US convoy passed, killing one soldier and wounding another, said US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel George Krivo.

Habaniyah and Khaldiyah are about 50 miles west of Baghdad.

Six soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division were wounded on Sunday in nearby Fallujah in another roadside bombing, US officials said.

In another incident, 4th Infantry Division troops killed one Iraqi and captured three others in a shootout 9 miles south of Balad, late on Sunday. In the car, troops found two M-16 rifles that belonged to two US soldiers who were abducted and killed in June, officials said.

In the Khaldiyah fight, American M1A2 tanks fired 120-mm cannons as helicopters strafed farmhouses with 50-mm machine gun fire. Two A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft bombed guerrilla positions while F-15 jets streaked across the sky.

At mid-afternoon, six armoured personnel carriers two of them ambulances arrived as reinforcements. As the fight continued, eight Humvees carrying troops also could be seen heading toward the battle.

An Iraqi man, fleeing on foot with his wife, three other women, a nephew and five children, said at least 10 houses had been destroyed. He refused to give his name.

"Is this the freedom we were promised?" he asked. "I had to get my family out, the helicopters were firing almost nonstop. My 7-year-old is too young to hate but how can he not hate them after this?" he said.

Meanwhile, soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division launched two dozen raids in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and other areas of northern Iraq, arresting 92 people and seizing weapons and ammunition.

One of the raids included the largest joint operation between US military police and about 200 US-trained Iraqi police.

In Baghdad, there was an assassination attempt on Jalaluldin al-Saghir, a member of a study committee for a new Iraqi constitution, said Hamid Moussa, a member of the US-picked governing council.

"What is happening is the result of the fragile security situation in which the Iraqis are living. The country lacks order and security," Moussa said. He said it was not clear who was responsible for the attack.