17 Iraqis, 3 U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq

American military officials said that four marines were injured in clashes in the western Baghdad city of Fallujah, which has been under a crippling U.S. siege since April 5 which also left more than 600 people dead.

"Initial reports were eight enemy killed and four marines wounded," Colonel John Coleman, chief of staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.

Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the deputy operations director for the U.S.-led forces, admitted one soldier was fatally wounded injured in the clashes.

An embedded pool reporter with the marines told CNN that another six marines were injured by shrapnel but the reports could not be immediately confirmed.

The raid came one day after a chief mediator to end the standoff said a new agreement between officials in the restive Iraqi town and the U.S.-led occupation has been agreed to extend the ceasefire "indefinitely".

But The New York Times reported the same day that U.S. President George W. Bush and his senior national security and military advisers are expected to decide this weekend whether to order an invasion of the densely-populated Fallujah.

More Casualties

In the meantime, a Spanish patrol unit killed five Iraqis Monday near the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniyah, the Spanish defense ministry announced.

The spokesman claimed the unit returned fire after coming under small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenade attack some two kilometers (one mile) west of Diwaniyah.

Spanish troops on Sunday, April 25, killed at least two armed men in the same sector after a convoy of three armored vehicles was ambushed.

The attacks come amid preparations by Spain’s new socialist-led government to abide by a pre-election pledge to pull the country’s 1,432-strong contingent from Iraq.

Explosion

Other two Iraqis were killed in a fresh explosion in northern Baghdad as U.S. soldiers were inspecting the facility, flattening a nearby house and sending plumes of thick black smoke into the sky.

A witness said a huge explosion occurred and four Humvees were set ablaze after U.S. soldiers entered what he claimed to be a chemical lab.

An Iraqi policeman, who refused to give his name, said he saw three U.S. soldiers wounded or killed in each vehicle. Another four people were wounded in the blast, including two children, witnesses said.

No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq so far, raising pretexts that the U.S.-British invasion of the oil-rich country had been based on false pretexts.

Replacement

In Najaf, U.S. troops have started replacing Spanish and Latin American troops at a base near the holy city, a Polish military spokesman said.

The move follows the announcement by Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic to pull their troops out of Iraq, where they formed part of the Polish-led force.

The Polish sector has been the scene of violent clashes for the past month, with a Bulgarian soldier being killed earlier on Friday in the holy city of Karbala.

This come as a poll showed Monday that a majority of Thais want the kingdom’s troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra hinted last week that the 451-strong contingent would be pulled out, saying he hoped the United States would understand if Thailand had to take that decision because of rising violence.

Britain, for its part, left open the prospect of sending more troops to Iraq to fill the gap left by departing forces, saying Monday it was discussing the possibility with "coalition partners".

"The position in Iraq is kept under constant review," a Ministry of Defense spokesman told AFP in London.

Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada Sadr, holed up in the holy city of Najaf, warned in an interview that the U.S. military would feel the "fires of hell" if they carried out their threat to kill or capture him.

The top U.S. administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, said on Sunday that "a dangerous situation is developing in Najaf, where he claimed weapons are being stockpiled in mosques and shrines and schools," and that "this explosive situation threatens the general population there.

But a spokesman to Sadr denied the claims as "lies", renewing warning that storming into Najaf is still "red line" that should not be overstepped.

Sadr confirmed a previous threat to use "martyr attacks" if U.S. forces entered Najaf, or another holy city, Karbala.

Oil Exports Resumed

Meanwhile, Iraq’s vital southern oil terminals were back in operation after being shut down by attacks that killed three U.S. sailors, interim Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum said.

But the attacks on the terminals, where up to 90 percent of Iraq’s current oil exports are loaded, caused worries on world markets, where oil prices rose in London trade.

"Exports have been restored to their previous levels and security measures have been reinforced in collaboration with coalition forces to protect the oil installations," the minister said.

Authorities have plans to ramp up crude output to three million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2004, up from 2.8 million bpd before U.S.-led troops invaded the oil-rich country.

Iraq has the world’s second oil reserves.

New Flag

Also, a model of the new Iraqi flag was published in Iraqi Al-Sabah newspaper.

Hamid al-Kifai, spokesman of the Iraqi governing council, said the two blue stripes represent the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates while the yellow stripe between the two blue ones symbolizes the Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Above the three stripes is a white background and a blue crescent, symbol of Islam, is located in the middle.

Kifai said that the color of the crescent might be changed into either red or gold.

He said that the final version of the flag will be unveiled in two days.