Sniper brings US troops out in force

BAGHDAD - Scores of heavily armed US troops swept through central Baghdad yesterday, sealing off roads and searching houses, after a soldier was killed overnight by sniper fire in the north of the lawless city.

A US military spokesman said the soldier was killed on Monday night while on patrol. US forces have been plagued by ambushes in Baghdad and nearby regions. At least 41 soldiers have been killed by hostile action since May 1.

In a separate incident on Monday, a car exploded in western Baghdad, killing two people.

Residents said the blast happened at an intersection where US troops were manning a checkpoint earlier in the day.

A US officer said it was a suspected car bomb and that two soldiers had been hurt. A military spokesman said the reports were being checked but could not yet be confirmed.

Earlier on Monday, a car was destroyed in a blast as it drove through a tunnel in central Baghdad. Two Iraqis were wounded. nte

On Tuesday, troops blocked streets with armoured vehicles and searched houses in Baghdad across the Tigris river from the sprawling Republican Guard palace complex, home to the US-led Administration trying to impose order in Iraq.

Soldiers said they had seized several weapons during house-to-house searches. A two-week amnesty for Iraqis to hand in heavy weapons ended on Sunday. Anyone caught with illegal firearms now faces a fine and up to a year in jail.

US forces launched Operation Desert Scorpion on Sunday, to hunt for pro-Saddam guerrillas whom Washington blames for the spate of ambushes in Iraq.

US Central Command said that by late Monday, 156 people had been detained in 11 raids in Baghdad. Troops seized guns, ammunition, grenades and explosives.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq