Edgy US troops shoot two Iraqis

Gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades at a US armoured vehicle in the tense Iraqi town of Falluja late on Wednesday, prompting heavy retali...

Gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades at a US armoured vehicle in the tense Iraqi town of Falluja late on Wednesday, prompting heavy retaliation that killed two Iraqis. Residents accused the soldiers of firing indiscriminately. Captain Mike Riedmuller, the US commander in charge of the Fox unit occupying Falluja, said his soldiers had been attacked with grenades and AK-47 rifles while patrolling the city.

‘‘We were also sniped at from rooftops and returned fire for one to two hours,’’ he said, adding that no soldiers had been injured.

The incident inflamed tension in the town, which was the scene of clashes between US troops and local demonstrators after the fall of Saddam Hussein last month in which at least 15 Iraqis died. On May 1, a grenade attack wounded seven US soldiers in the town.

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Propellers from anti-tank grenades still lay at the scene of the latest clashes on Thursday and several shops had been destroyed. Residents said the troops had appeared to fire randomly in the direction of the city centre after coming under attack, killing two occupants of a white Nissan pickup truck travelling near the scene. The wreckage of the truck was still visible. The residents said the soldiers had stopped an ambulance trying to approach the scene, and that the US armoured vehicle had rammed the pickup truck.

But Riedmuller said the Nissan had rammed into the US Bradley fighting vehicle, and that his soldiers had then shot the Iraqis inside.

One of the victims was 19-year-old Hady Jaber. ‘‘His wedding was supposed to be today,’’ said Khalil Ibrahim, a electrical engineer. Residents said the soldiers had barged into their homes searching for attackers. The troops later withdrew from the area, but increased their patrols in other parts of the city. (Reuters)