IRAQ: Three US soldiers were killed in overnight clashes with gunmen in the Shia holy city of Karbala, and a US military policeman was killed yesterday in Baghdad, writes Jack Fairweather in Baghdad
The deaths bring to 101 the number of American servicemen killed in action in Iraq since the end of the war.
At least two Iraqi police officers and nine attackers were also killed when a joint American-Polish patrol came under attack from armed supporters of local cleric Mahmud al-Hassani.
The gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s from rooftops for half-an-hour near the al-Abbas mosque, scene of heavy fighting between rival Shia factions earlier in the week.
Although the US death toll has topped a significant barrier by going over 100, it is a fraction of the 145,000 US troops currently in the country, 650 American soldiers have also been wounded in the daily attacks that coalition forces blame on a small number of people who remain loyal to Saddam.
In recent weeks the Coalition Provisional Authority has launched a campaign to highlight the positive aspects of Iraq's reconstruction, an effort largely thwarted by the continuing instability.
An American military spokesman said: "Its very frustrating. We're rebuilding schools, reconnecting sewage pipes and getting electricity running again. But the top story is going to be that the number of American dead has hit treble figures. The country is recovering, and we've just got to keep telling the Iraqis that." The ambush in Karbala will, however, raise alarm that coalition forces are being drawn into conflict with Iraq's largely peaceful Shia community.
The coalition imposed an overnight curfew in the city after clashes on Wednesday between supporters of the radical cleric Moqtada Sadr and more moderate Shias, killing one.
Earlier in the week Sadr announced the formation of an Islamic-style government to rival the US-installed Governing Council, a plan subsequently dropped due to lack of public support. He also faced mounting pressure from the coalition.
US troops on Thursday moved against his supporters in the Sadr City neighbourhood of Baghdad, the cleric's power base and scene of a gun battle last week between American soldiers and Sadr's militia that left two US soldiers dead.
Coalition forces arrested 12 of Sadr's followers outside municipal council offices as they led a large demonstration denouncing the US-led occupation.
Yesterday, another protest called for the withdrawal of US troops from Sadr City as they stood guard outside the council building.
Lieut Marcus O'Neil, on guard, said: "It's not been a good day for us. We've all been disturbed to hear how many how many American soldiers have been killed since the end of the war.
"I hope that the Iraqis will see the things we're doing for them doing for them and realise that we're only here to help."