American contractor killed, two soldiers wounded in al-Falouja

One American civilian working in Iraq was killed when a truck carrying an explosive under his car went off to the north of the city of Tikrit.

An officer in the US army said that the attack targeted a vehicle for the occupation forces composed of five trucks, heading from Baghdad to Tikrit, 193 Km to the north of the capital Baghdad.

He added that the contractor, whose name was not disclosed, died after he was admitted to a field hospital in one of the US military bases to receive medical treatment.

The killed civilian works with the "Brown and Root "company which belongs to Haliberton giant oil company in Houston. The said company had won the main contracts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the former company of US Vice President Dick Cheney.

At least two American soldiers were injured yesterday when a missile shelling was launched at a police center in al-Falouja city, 50 Km to the west of Baghdad in the most recent attack for the Iraqi resistance. The two wounded soldiers were taken in an ambulance.

In another operation, witnesses said that an explosive went off when four armored vehicles were running over al-Falouja bridge yesterday and this resulted in damaging one of them.

Meantime, the American forces are launching a vast mopping up operations, backed by helicopters in al-Dajil area near Balad town, 45 Km to the north of Baghdad, in search of the toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his supporters.

American military sources said that the occupation forces detained nine Iraqis including 4 suspected persons of being members in the Iraqi resistance in the areas where the majority are Sunni to the north of Baghdad.