US troops kill seven suspected Iraqi rebels

US troops stationed in the pro-Saddam Hussein parts of central Iraq killed seven suspected insurgents in separate clashes, a military spokesman said today.

The clashes occurred yesterday around Baqouba, where a car bomb outside a police station killed two bystanders and the driver. Baqouba is 45 miles south-east of Tikrit, the home town of Saddam.

The most serious clash occurred in Abu Kharma, 10 miles from Baqouba, where four attackers were killed in a gun battle, said an army spokesman.

One American soldier was wounded but was saved from more serious injuries by his flak jacket.

The fighting took place during one of the 28 raids the troops conducted, which resulted in the capture of 31 Saddam loyalists.

In Khalas, six miles north-west of Baqouba, an American army patrol fired at two Iraqis digging a hole in the ground, apparently to plant bombs, killing them both. A spokesman said the men did not fire at the troops but attempted to run away on spotting the patrol.

In Jalula, near Tikrit, soldiers returned fire at two people who attacked them with automatic weapons, killing one of them and injuring the other.