KARBALA, Oct 17: The US military in Iraq on Friday reported four combat deaths, raising to 101 the number of US soldiers killed in action in the war-ravaged country since the end of major hostilities.

Three died in an overnight firefight in Karbala and another was killed on Friday when an explosive device blew up in Baghdad, the US-led coalition said.

All four were with the US military police.

In addition, at least one policeman was killed and several armed followers of a local cleric also were reported dead in the Karbala fighting.

“This morning at 7:50 am (0450 GMT) one military policeman from the 220th Military Police Brigade was killed and two others were wounded in an improvised explosive device in the Baghdad area,” a coalition spokeswoman said. Earlier, US troops and Iraqi police came under attack by bodyguards of cleric Mahmud al-Hassani in Karbala, the coalition said.

“Three coalition troops were killed and seven wounded,” said US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel George Krivo.

A coalition spokesman said two Iraqi policemen were killed and another five wounded, though the officer who headed the police patrol put the toll among his men at one dead and one wounded, and said the gunmen also suffered several casualties.—AFP