Gunmen kill Iraqi tribal leader linked to British

Gunmen killed a Shiite tribal sheikh linked to British forces in a drive-by shooting today in the southern city of Basra, while two US Marines were reported killed in fighting in a volatile province west of Baghdad.

One US Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 and one US Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died on Thursday from wounds sustained due to enemy action in the Anbar province, an insurgent stronghold, the military said.

The deaths raise to 53 the number of American troops who have died in December, which is on track to being one of the deadliest months of the war. At least 2,941 members of the US military have died the US-led invasion in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The slain cleric, Muhsin al-Kanan, was a member of the provisional council in Iraq’s second-largest city, 340 miles south-east of Baghdad, and had good relations with the British forces in the area, police said.

Britain has about 7,200 troops in southern Iraq, mostly stationed in and around Basra, and Shiite factions and militias have been fighting for control of the area as they begin to withdraw from some of the provinces in the region. Attacks by insurgents from Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority also have occurred in the area.

Gunmen also opened fire on a civilian near a bus station in Kut, 100 miles south-east of Baghdad, killing him in a drive-by shooting, police in the city said.

Little violence was reported in Baghdad on Friday, the traditional Muslim day of prayer during which a weekly four-hour vehicle ban is imposed, after a week in which the capital was struck by several deadly car bombs and a mass kidnapping in a major commercial district.

The Sanak area, which is dominated by auto parts shops and stalls selling other appliances, was calm today and businesses were closed for the weekly services.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said the investigation was continuing into Thursday’s abductions.

Gunmen in military uniforms drove into a commercial district in the capital and seized dozens of shopkeepers and bystanders from the streets on Thursday. Police said at least 25 of the hostages had been released but would not comment on how many remained in custody.

Khalaf said only three of those who had been released had come to the ministry to provide information about the case. “We are questioning them while the others went home directly,” he said.

Another policeman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said the three witnesses said they had been handcuffed and blindfolded before they were released late Thursday in a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood in north-eastern Baghdad.

A Shiite cleric, meanwhile, called for US forces to leave the country and warned the “bloodshed will continue” if Iraq’s politicians don’t stop fighting each other.

The comments by Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammadawi during his Friday sermon in the Shiite district of Sadr City, came one the eve of a national reconciliation conference aimed at rallying ethnic, religious and political groups around a common strategy for handling Iraq’s problems.