AFP, The US-backed mayor of the Shi'ite district of Sadr City in Baghdad has been shot dead in an altercation with US troops.
US Central Command said the dispute, which was being investigated, took place at the building housing the district advisory council, of which the slain mayor, Mohannad Ghazi al-Kaabi, was chairman.
“This incident reportedly occurred as a result of a confrontation following Mohannad's refusal to follow instructions from the on-site security official,” the US military said in a statement.
The official was “enforcing security procedures stemming from recent car bombing incidents in accordance with standard rules of engagement”.
A shot fired during the altercation wounded Mr Kaabi in the “lower extremities”, the US military said.
Despite immediate medical assistance, he was pronounced dead on arrival at a US military hospital.
The statement did not say who fired the shot.
Mr Kaabi's killing could have implications for relations with US forces in the sprawling and politically sensitive Sadr City, which is home to 2 million Shi'ites.
The shooting occurred as US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called for “a lot of troops” from other countries to help stabilise Iraq, following the killing of a US soldier and a Kurdish fighter working with Iraq's border guard.
Three US soldiers were wounded on Monday when a roadside bomb exploded beside a military convoy in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police said, although the army had no immediate confirmation.
The US soldier was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack south of the capital, late on Sunday.
The death brings to 148 the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since May 1, when Washington declared major combat was over.
