U.S. troops fired on two cars at a checkpoint in Fallujah, killing four Iraqis and injuring five others, local residents and Arab satellite television reported Saturday.

U.S. military officials could not be reached for comment because their telephone system appeared to be malfunctioning.

However, residents reached by telephone in Fallujah said the incident occurred about 10 p.m. Friday on the eastern edge of Fallujah, where opposition to the American presence runs deep. Al-Jazeera television and local residents said the dead included two men and two women and that one of those wounded was a child.

Fallujah, located west of Baghdad in the "Sunni Triangle," is one of the major flashpoints of tension between U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians.

On Sept. 12, U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division killed eight Iraqi policemen and a Jordanian hospital guard near Fallujah. The police were chasing a car known to have been involved in highway banditry.

In April, soldiers from the division fired on protesters on two successive days, killing 18 and injuring 78. U.S. troops had withdrawn to a base outside the city in July and had been turning over security duties to local police. The U.S. military at the time said the troops were fired at first in the April incident, but Iraqi witnesses denied this.

Close

Today's Top News		Top International News
+President: Vital need for shield against terrorists ( 2003-09-27) +Japanese orgy in Zhuhai hotel sparks Chinese fury ( 2003-09-27) +Beijing to raise income tax cut-in level ( 2003-09-27) +China reaffirms solidarity with UN ( 2003-09-27) +Rescue teams finally reach stranded expedition group ( 2003-09-27)		+US troops reportedly kill four Iraqis ( 2003-09-27) +US companies say it's not the economy, stupid ( 2003-09-27) +Powell: Iraqi Constitution wanted in six months ( 2003-09-27) +US oks greater UN oversight of Iraq ( 2003-09-27) +German police break child porn ring ( 2003-09-27)