IRAQ: American soldiers killed at least four Iraqi civilians yesterday in a town at the heart of the anti-US insurgency while a US Apache helicopter crashed nearby, probably after being hit by ground fire.
Mr Paul Bremer, the US administrator of Iraq, said attacks on the coalition had come down dramatically and plans to hand over power to Iraqis were well under way, although it would not be possible to hold elections before the June 30th deadline.
A US army foot patrol came under rocket attack in the town of Falluja, west of Baghdad, after a noisy anti-American protest. The soldiers killed at least four civilians when they returned fire, including an elderly woman, witnesses said.
"Two rockets were fired at them," said Khalas Ahmed, a 15-year-old boy selling cigarettes from a nearby kiosk. "The Americans started firing back. The bullets hit my kiosk and I dived to the ground."
The woman who was killed was on a balcony of a nearby house, and a passing car was caught in a hail of bullets which killed all three men inside, other witnesses said.
A US military spokeswoman in Baghdad said she had no immediate information on the incident.
Hundreds of people took part in the demonstration, which was called to protest against the arrest of a young woman by troops in the town on Monday. Speakers said the woman was alone at home at the time and that her arrest was an insult.
"Is it sensible that a great nation [the US\] storms houses where there are only women and children?" asked one speaker.
"This woman represents the honour of the people of Falluja." Falluja, 50 km west of Baghdad, is a stronghold of anti-US guerrillas who have mounted almost daily attacks on coalition forces.
At least three US helicopters have crashed around the town in less than two weeks, including the Apache yesterday. US spokesmen say all three were likely brought down by ground fire.
"Our initial information tells us that it's possible that the \ helicopter was downed by, or at least was struck by, enemy fire," a US military spokesman said after the chopper crashed near Thirthar lake, north of Falluja. Both crew members survived, other spokesmen said.
Also near Falluja, a Black Hawk helicopter crashed after being hit by ground fire last week, killing all nine soldiers on board, and an OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopter was shot down on January 2nd, killing one pilot and injuring the other.
Mr Bremer told CBS television: "In the last three or four weeks we've seen a rather dramatic reduction in the number of attacks on the coalition. They are down by about 50 per cent. I think we have found since the arrest of Saddam \ a better way to go after the insurgency, more intelligence about who they are and, even more important, we are finding a lot of people . . . coming over and providing us information, saying they want to work with the coalition." - (Reuters)