Iraqis step up attacks on Allied troops

British and American forces were on high alert tonight as Iraqis opposed to the US-led occupation stepped up their attacks on Allied troops.

A US marine was killed and another was injured today in Baghdad by a bomb placed on the road to the international airport.

Two Iraqi electrical engineers were killed elsewhere in the city when their US-led convoy was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades.

And military officials said two US oldiers and their vehicle were missing in Baghdad.

A senior Pentagon official said forces in Baghdad had searched for hours to find them the two soldiers and their Humvee vehicle.

The violence came as British officials in the south demanded the killers of six Royal Military Policemen who were gunned down on Tuesday be handed to them.

While a British spokeswoman insisted troops were hunting for the gunmen, there was no sign of British troops on the streets of Majar al-Kabir.

Armed men from the local security force were instead seen driving around the town in several pick-up trucks.

Attacks on the occupation forces – which until the deaths of the Red Caps mostly targeted American units in central Iraq – have spiralled since major combat was officially declared over on May 1.

The surge came despite assurances that the troops are mopping up resistance.

An American military official said the intensifying attacks on allied troops could be a response to almost two weeks of raids targeting Baath Party loyalists.

Three US marines were injured today in an ambush in Hillah, 45 miles south of Baghdad, and grenades were dropped from a bridge onto US armoured vehicles in the capital. No one was hurt in the bridge attack, but another US marine was killed in a car crash as his unit sped to reinforce the troops in Hillah.

One US official said the intensifying attacks could be a response to almost two weeks of raids targeting supporters of former president Saddam Hussein.

Major William Thurmond said the resistance was a “spike” and not a trend.

Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera screened a video statement today by a group calling itself “the Popular Resistance for the Liberation of Iraq”.

It urged Arabs and Muslims to join them in “taking revenge” on America.

It also warned Iraqis to stay away from “places where the American forces are deployed” and promised more “painful attacks against the occupation forces in the near future”.

Tuesday’s attack in Majar was particularly worrying for the Allies because it shattered the peace that had reigned in Shiite-dominated south since the fall of Saddam.

The Shiite gunmen were enraged by the death of their neighbours – allegedly shot by British troops during a protest earlier in the day – and over heavy handed weapons searches in homes.

Local police said five Iraqis were killed, including one who died from his wounds today.

Majar Mayor Kadhin Mohsen said town leaders had been handed all the weapons that were seized from the dead British soldiers, except for one rifle which he said they were waiting for someone to turn in.

He said all the weapons would be returned to British forces.

British forces in Iraq have been reduced from 45,000 during the war to 15,500 now, two-thirds of them ground forces.

The United States has brought home about 130,000 troops from the region, leaving 146,000 American forces in Iraq.