One American soldier killed in Falouja

The US Secretary Of State Colin Powell arrived yesterday in Iraq just few hours after a spokesman for the American occupation army announced the killing of one American soldier and wounding three others at the entrance of al-Falouja city to the west of Baghdad.

The explosion resulted in destroying a military vehicle while US helicopters hurried to transport the wounded and one of them was exposed to RPJ fire. Tension is prevailing on al-Falouja because of the killing of nine Iraqi policemen by the US soldiers on Saturday.

In Baqouba, news reports quoted eye witnesses as saying that an American military patrol was exposed yesterday morning to an attack by an explosive in al-Saada area in the city, situated north east of Baghdad. The news reports said that the attack resulted in damaging an American military vehicle. The US forces in the area carried out a large- scale inspection campaign in search of the executors of the attack.

Meanwhile, more than 100 American soldiers and Iraqi policemen supported by helicopters raided the desert Jabal al-Hammreen village in Tikrit area under the pretext of chasing thieves. News reports said that 7 persons were arrested there.