A U.S. marine was killed in military confrontations south of Baghdad, it was said in a statement on Sunday. It added the American soldier was killed in clashes north of Babil governorate on Saturday.

Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers fired on a car that sped toward them in central Iraq on Sunday morning, wounding two people, the military said.

Iraqi Police and several witnesses, however, reported that four people were killed and that the vehicle was hit by tank fire. The shooting occurred around 8:40 a.m. just outside the city of Samarra.

A military spokesman for the Tikrit-based Task Force Danger said there was no tank at the position. He said ground troops opened fire after the car ignored several warning shots and continued to speed toward their battle
position.

He said the driver of the car and a passenger were wounded and were evacuated to a military medical facility. He had no reports of fatalities.

© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)