Roadside bombs went off near three American convoys in and around Baghdad on Wednesday, injuring two troops, an official said. In the southern city of Basra, two Iraqis who were injured in clashes between British soldiers and Iraqi police died in a hospital Wednesday, raising the civilian death toll to five, police said. The fighting took place Monday when British troops stormed a Basra jail to release two British soldiers who had been arrested by Basra police.
About 500 civilians and policemen, some waving pistols and AK-47s, rallied Wednesday in Basra and denounced "British aggression." The demonstrators in Basra shouted "No to occupation!"
In the worst attack on U.S. forces Wednesday, a roadside bomb went off as an American military convoy drove through the Abu Ghraib area on the western outskirts of Baghdad, leaving two soldiers with minor wounds, said U.S. Lt. Jamie Davis, a spokesman for the U.S. army.
According to The AP, Iraqi police 1st Lt. Mohammed Khayon said the U.S. forces then opened fire on people in the area, wounding an Iraqi civilian.
Roadside bombs also exploded Wednesday near two other U.S. convoys in southwestern Baghdad and in the Taji area north of the capital.
Elsewhere, Iraqi forces fought with gunmen based in several homes near the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the Mansour neighborhood, and two policemen, one soldier and five gunmen were killed, said army Brig. Abdeljalil Khalaf.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said Tuesday night reports on Iran's interference in Iraqi domestic affairs were unfounded. "Publishing such reports is aimed at concealing the incapability of the occupying forces in restoring security to Iraq. "Under the circumstances that security conditions in Iraq are worsening and the Iraqi nation, as the biggest victim, suffers further damage, such allegations are raised to divert the public opinion and to put the blame on somebody else," he said, according to IRNA.
The spokesman added, "Iran has played a constructive role in restoring security to Iraq since the outset of the crisis in that country. It has also strived to reduce the scope and intensity of the crisis through contact and dialogue with the Iraqi government and various groups."
Asefi added, "By withdrawing from Iraq and delegating administration of affairs to the Iraqi people, the occupiers should prepare the grounds for the establishment of security, peace and democracy in that country."
