BAGHDAD, May 1: Seven US soldiers were injured in Fallujah when two unidentified men lobbed grenades over the wall of their positions, starkly highlighting the continued lack of security prevailing in Iraq as the occupying forces battle to restore order.

Fallujah, a city of 600,000 people some 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of the bloodiest clashes between Iraqis and US forces since the fall of President Saddam Hussein’s government on April 9.

Three Iraqis were killed and two left in critical condition in the city on Wednesday when US troops opened fire on an angry crowd of residents protesting the US presence, after 13 people were shot dead in a similar incident on Monday night.

The population, largely under the rule of religious hardliners still loyal to Saddam Hussein, warned of more violence if US troops do not at least pull out to the edge of the city.

“The Americans must satisfy the families of the murdered people. Their relatives will start taking revenge on them with guns and bombs,” said Fahri Urzurqi, a retired civil servant.

He lives close to the makeshift US base which came under attack. The bunker lies near the site of demonstrations on Monday and Wednesday that led to the killings.

“At least they (US troops) should meet the imams to try to calm down the situation because it has become very dangerous for everyone,” Mr Urzurqi said.

Khozhair Hamed Khozhair, a customer at a restaurant on the street where the shootings took place, said: “There will be no peace in this city as long as the Americans are here. We will decide what to do if they don’t leave and we will do it.”

Like several others he identified himself as a relative of some of those killed in the close-knit town of 600,000, located some 50 kilometres west of Baghdad.

He related rumors running wild that the US soldiers were staring at local women with their binoculars and they had violently searched some of the town’s many mosques.

“No Islamic country in the entire world would accept being occupied by US soldiers. Things are going to get worse and worse,” a tribal chief warned.

At their makeshift camp, US army troops were nervously hunkered down behind a concrete barricade and rows of barbed wire.

One stone-faced soldier peered out from behind a mounted heavy machinegun and scanned the street and rooftops for any sign of an attack.—AFP\Reuters