One US soldier was killed and another three injured when their convoy was attacked with an "improvised explosive device" (IED) in Fallujah, located west of Baghdad on Sunday, a US military spokeswoman said.
Witnesses at the scene said a helicopter attempted to land to medivac the injured to a nearby hospital after the explosion, but was turned back after it was targetted by a rocket.
Sergeant Amy Abbott, a spokeswoman for the US occupation forces in Iraq, said the attack came at 8:00 am (local time) in Fallujah, AFP reported.
The blast followed the funeral of nine Iraqi security personnel in Fallujah who died in a "friendly fire" incident involving US troops.
Following Saturday's funeral, anti-US forces in Fallujah swore to avenge the deaths.
Elsewhere, three US soldiers in the northern city of Mosul were wounded in an attack by assailants firing a rocket-propelled grenade, US occupation forces said Sunday.
Captain Jeff Fitzgibbons said the three soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were wounded at about 9:00 pm (local time) Saturday in the city.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Baghdad Sunday morning on an historic visit, travelling from Kuwait aboard a US Air Force Hercules C-130 military transport plane.
Powell, the highest-level American official to visit Iraq since the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime, was greeted by top US military officers and soldiers at Baghdad airport.
Powell is the first US secretary of state to travel to Baghdad in half a century. He touched down in Baghdad at about 09:15 am (local time).
Later, Powell said he was encouraged by progress toward self-rule, but that Iraq's porous borders are attracting saboteurs intent on undermining that goal.
With Iraq's new foreign minister by his side, Powell hailed advances in Iraq's political and economic development since the end of the U.S.-led war.
He said the security situation remains challenging, with a "major new threat" coming from "terrorists who are trying to infiltrate into the country for the purpose of disrupting this whole process."
The secretary gave a rough estimate of 100 such infiltrators and said he was confident that the U.S. military can handle this problem.
Powell conveyed Iraqis would decide when the transition to self- government is appropriate. He expressed concern that a premature transfer of power could leave the country in chaos.
Earlier, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher had said that Powell would "meet with Iraqis and with members of the Coalition Provisional Authority in order to see firsthand the progress being made by the international community and by the Iraqi people in rebuilding their nation and society from 30 years of Saddam Hussein's destructive rule." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
