BAGHDAD, July 7: Two US soldiers and two Iraqis were killed on Monday as violence against the US-led coalition escalated, while Ankara said the US arrest of Turkish troops had sparked a “crisis” between the NATO allies.

The latest shootings — which raised to three the number of US soldiers who died within 24 hours — overshadowed the “historic” inaugural meeting of a Baghdad city council.

The latest shootings followed a rocket attack on a US patrol in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, that left four US soldiers wounded, a US military spokesman said.

Two Iraqis were killed, one in the shootout in Baghdad and one in Ramadi when US troops returned fire, Corporal Todd Pruden said, while a military statement said a soldier shot in the capital on Sunday had died of his wounds.

Residents in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, said one of the Iraqis killed was a man sitting in his car with his son, who was also shot and wounded. Residents said neither the man nor his son were involved in the attack on US troops. Baghdad’s city council held its inaugural meeting with top US civil administrator Paul Bremer hailing the event as perhaps the most important stride taken since Saddam’s regime fell on April 9.—AFP