A US civilian contractor has been killed in a bomb attack in Northern Iraq, the US Army said today.
Earlier, a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a police station west of Baghdad wounded at least two US soldiers, the latest victims of a guerrilla war that has killed 53 American troops in the last three months.
The grenade slammed into a police station in the town of Falluja, 50 km west of the capital. Two US soldiers were taken away in an ambulance as a crowd gathered, chanting their support for deposed president Saddam Hussein.
"We sacrifice our blood and our souls for you, Saddam," they shouted. The fugitive dictator has so far evaded capture despite a $25 million price on his head.
US officials say remnants of Saddam's militias and security forces, as well as some foreign fighters, are behind the guerrilla campaign that has killed 53 US troops since Washington declared major combat over on May 1st. Officials also blame Saddam loyalists for sabotage of oil pipelines.
US forces have mounted a series of raids in the rebellious "Sunni triangle" region north and west of Baghdad to hunt down the attackers and search for Saddam.
An army spokesman in Saddam's home town of Tikrit said nine suspects had been captured in raids over the past 24 hours.
UN official, Mr Ramiro Lopez da Silva, said persistent insecurity and concerns about bankrolling a military occupation could make donors wary of committing funds.
He said $5 billion was needed from an October aid conference merely to keep Iraq's creaking infrastructure and basic services from grinding to a halt next year.