SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 5: The American Muslim community is outraged at the remarks of Lt Gen James Mattis, commander of Marine Division in Iraq, that it is "fun to shoot some people".

His comments in a gathering of defence contractors in San Diego came in the context of fighting guerillas in Iraq, where he commanded Marines during the battle for Fallujah last spring.

The general was quoted as having said: "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight them, you know. It's fun to shoot some people, like brawling."

Gen Mattis, who also commanded Marine expeditions in Afghanistan, went on to say: "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."

The audience applauded the general's remarks.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a leading Muslim civil liberties group, called on the Pentagon to discipline Gen Mattis for the remarks.

"We do not need generals who treat the grim business of war as a sporting event," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement. "These disturbing remarks are indicative of an apparent indifference to the value of human life."

In response to the CAIR call, the commandant of the Marine Corps said he had counselled Gen James Mattis about choosing his words more carefully.

Nihad Awad said that they see the commandant's statement less than a slap on the wrist and it sends a very negative message to the Muslim world that US generals do not care about human life.

In 2003, CAIR called for action against Gen William G. Boykin, who told church audiences that he is in "the army of God" and claimed that Muslims worship an "'idol".

A Pentagon investigation of Gen Boykin's remarks concluded that he violated regulations by failing to make clear he was not speaking in an official capacity and did not obtain prior clearance for the remarks.