Seven US soldiers were wounded when Iraqis lobbed two grenades into their base in the town of Falluja, where American troops killed at least 15 people during protests this week, the US military said yesterday.
"The attack was an expression of the anger of a few people in the city after what happened," Capt Alan Vaught said, referring to US shootings at earlier anti-American protests.
The mayor of Falluja, Mr Taha Badawi Hamid al-Alwani, and some residents said the assailants used rocket-propelled grenades. Soldiers at the compound, located on the busiest street, said they could not tell whether the grenades were thrown or launched.
The US soldiers wounded in the attack were evacuated from the town, 30 miles west of Baghdad. A US Central Command statement said that, of the seven wounded, five required medical attention and were in stable condition.
After the attack, US troops exchanged gunfire with Iraqis. Centcom said US forces "exercised their inherent right to self-defence".
Neither US nor Iraqi officials had information on any Iraqi casualties.
Mr Alwani, who was selected by local tribesmen to lead the town after the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9th, condemned the attack, saying: "Anybody, whoever he is, American or Iraqi, who resorts to violence is an evil person."
The deputy mayor, Mr Ziad Mekhlif, said: "The religious leaders in the city are working with the government to ask the people to stay calm. But, if the Americans make a mistake and overreact again, I don't know how we will contain the hatred."
Tension has been running high in the Sunni Muslim city of about 270,000 over the presence of US troops stationed in a former Baath Party compound protected with barbed wire and guarded from sand-bagged gun positions on the roof.
On Monday US soldiers fired on an angry crowd demanding that US troops leave a school they had occupied. Thirteen Iraqis were killed. Two days later, two Iraqis were killed when US soldiers opened fire in a similar incident.
The US military said its troops were shot at first in both cases, but Iraqi witnesses said the shootings were unprovoked.
While Falluja residents generally say they are grateful the Americans ousted Saddam, they have made clear they want US troops to leave them to govern their town as soon as possible.Many praised what they called a "revenge" attack. - (Reuters)