15 January 2004	Thursday	22 Ziqa'ad 1424

TIKRIT, Jan 14: Eight Iraqis were killed on Tuesday in a firefight with US troops near the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, the US military said on Wednesday.

"Yesterday afternoon, southwest of Samarra, soldiers from the 1-8 Infantry Battalion killed eight attackers and wounded one," said Major Josslyn Aberle, spokeswoman for the US Fourth Infantry Division in Tikrit.

Major Aberle said the Iraqis had initially opened fire on the US troops in what she described as a "drive-by shooting". "The attackers fired on the soldiers with automatic weapons. They attempted to escape after the initial confrontation, the soldiers returned fire an pursued."

She said 26 attackers were apprehended following the incident and four vehicles were confiscated. Seven Iraqis believed to have been stealing fuel from a pipeline, were killed by US soldiers near Samarra on Sunday.

BOMB BLAST: A car bomb blew up outside a police station in central Iraq on Wednesday, killing five people and wounding nearly 30, while the US military announced it had captured number 54 on its list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis.

Witnesses said a green civilian car charged towards the main gate of the police compound in the restive town of Baquba, 65kms north of Baghdad, and detonated in front of a crowd of passersby and police.

The US military in Baghdad said five people were killed and 29 were injured, many of them Iraqi policemen. There were conflicting reports about whether it was a suicide attack.

Police at the scene said they had seen the bomber coming towards them and believed he had even strapped his foot to the car's accelerator to ensure the car would speed ahead if he was shot and killed before the point of detonation.

But a US military spokeswoman later said the car had been packed with grenades and mortar bombs and detonated remotely. She also said US soldiers had defused two other car bombs found in the vicinity of the blast.

BAATHIST CAPTURED: US authorities said troops had this week captured a former Baath party chairman from south of Baghdad. "As a result of aggressive operations this week, the coalition announces the capture of Khamis Sirhan al Mohammad, number 54 on the most wanted list," Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt said at a news conference in Baghdad.

FOREIGN FIGHTERS: When he was hiding from US troops, former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein told resistance leaders to be wary of joining forces with Arab fighters filtering into Iraq, The New York Times said on Wednesday.

Saddam's directive, found among the documents he had near him when he was captured last month, appears to challenge the White House's contention that he had contacts with Al Qaeda when he was in power.

US officials said Saddam's directive responded to his belief that foreign Arabs had different goals from his Baathist Party members, who seek to regain control of Iraq.

The officials said the a description of Saddam's directive is included in a classified intelligence report circulating within the US government. The Washington Post daily, which investigated the story after it was published by The New York Times, quoted Central Intelligence Agency officials as saying they believe Saddam's document to be authentic.

An unnamed senior US official told the Post the document "was interesting but not hugely important" since it only confirmed widespread belief that there was not much collaboration between Saddam's government and foreign fighters who entered Iraq in March.

While it is unclear how many foreign fighters are engaging US-led troops in Iraq, US officials agree the number is not as significant as initially believed.

The Washington Post said CIA deputy director John McLauglin, in a recent interview, said his agency believes former Baath Party loyalists and other Iraqis accounted for 90 per cent of the resistance. -AFP/Reuters