A car bomb explosion early Tuesday was followed by clashes between U.S. troops and insurgents in the al-Ziyout section of the Sunni Triangle city of Ramadi, according to police and eyewitnesses.
Following the blast, U.S. soldiers and rebels exchanged gunfire. An Associated Press photographer saw two dead persons and four wounded Iraqis at the scene, a casualty total confirmed by a doctor at Ramadi General Hospital.
Vehicle-borne Marines opened fire on three masked men seen planting a roadside explosive, and after killing two and wounding a third, they pursued three others who later managed to escape, said 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a spokesman for the Marines.
"Two civilians, a woman and a child, were injured in the initial exchange of fire between the Marines and the anti-Iraqi forces. It is unclear at this time how their injuries occurred," Gilbert said.
U.S. and Iraqi authorities have indicated that Ramadi, along with the nearby city of Fallujah, may have to be swept clear of rebels in order for January elections to take place everywhere in Iraq.
In other recent developments:
U.S. military officials say U.S. warplanes pounded the Baghdad slum of Sadr City overnight after an American patrol came under small arms fire. Hospital officials say at least one person was killed in skirmishes between U.S. troops and fighters loyal to renegade Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has yet to decide if he will run in January's elections. He's been told that to do so, he would have to disarm and disband his militia. Insurgents exploded two car bombs at the gates of the main U.S.-Iraqi headquarters in Baghdad and near major hotels Monday, killing at least 21 people and wounding 96. A soldier from the Army's 13th Corps Support Command was killed and two other GIs were injured late Monday when their convoy hit a homemade bomb near Baghdad. So far 1,058 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003. Just over 800 American deaths are the result of hostile action. Four U.S. soldiers accused of smothering an Iraqi general during an interrogation last fall have been charged with murder, bringing the total number of U.S. troops charged with murder in Iraq to at least 10.
The soldiers - all from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment - could get life in prison without parole if convicted in the Nov. 26 death of Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, 57, at Qaim, Iraq. Spain would consider sending troops back to Iraq - if requested to do so by the United Nations. That's according to Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono, in an interview with the TV channel Telecinco. Troops to Iraq would be a big policy shift from the election pledge of the Prime Minister, who pulled out Spain's troops as soon as he was elected last March - days after the Madrid train bombings. "If the U.N. asked us to go to cover the elections, as in Afghanistan," says Jose Bono, "we would consider it and we would take it to Parliament." U.S. Marines have distributed $367,300 in condolence and damage repair payments in the holy city of Najaf since three weeks of fighting ended there in late August. That's according to the U.S. military, which says that number includes over $200,000 distributed Monday to Najaf residents who got caught in crossfire. The former head of the U.S. occupation in Iraq says the U.S. didn't have enough troops on the ground after Saddam Hussein was toppled and has "paid a big price" for that, as short-staffing established an "atmosphere of lawlessness." The Washington Post quotes Paul Bremer as saying he's "more convinced than ever" that ousting Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do. Bremer also says he's optimistic about Iraq's future and fully supports the Bush administration's policy on Iraq. A journalism professor is taking the Pentagon to court to force it to release pictures of flag-draped coffins of soldiers arriving in the U.S. from wars overseas. University of Delaware professor Ralph Begleiter, a former CNN correspondent, filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act. He hopes to win the release of government photos and video of coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.The Pentagon says its policy is intended to respect the privacy of the families of the dead soldiers. Critics say the government is trying to hide the human cost of the war from the public.