Iraq

Gunmen kill chief of Hussein's tribe

TIKRIT, Iraq - Assailants gunned down the chief of Saddam Hussein's tribe in the ousted leader's hometown of Tikrit a few weeks after he publicly disavowed Hussein. Although the motive was unclear, Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khattab had many enemies, the regional governor said Tuesday.

Elsewhere, two attacks against American forces wounded at least six soldiers, U.S. troops shot and killed four people at checkpoints and a mosque explosion killed 10 people in Fallujah - further stirring anti-American sentiment in a town where Saddam and his Baath Party still enjoy support.

In Baghdad, the top U.S. official in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, said the U.S.-led provisional authority was "well on track to establish an Iraqi interim administration by mid July." The United States has pledged to set up a political council of 25 to 30 Iraqis that will appoint heads of ministries and be consulted on major decisions taken by the occupation government.

Bremer also said the U.S.-led authority has asked airlines to submit applications to resume commercial service to Baghdad.

"Day by day, conditions in Iraq continue to improve," Bremer said. "Freedom becomes more and more entrenched and the dark days of the Baathist regime are further and further back in people's memories."

Despite his reassurances, a burgeoning insurgency has seen several attacks on U.S. troops every day, leading some to worry about the possibility of a Vietnam-style quagmire.

In Tikrit, al-Khattab, who was leader of Hussein's Bani al-Nasiri tribe, was shot and killed Sunday afternoon while he rode in his car.

The killing highlighted the shifting alliances that have characterized Iraq. Even those eager to distance themselves from Hussein often pay dearly for their past links.

Al-Khattab "had many enemies and he had confiscated a lot of properties and killed many people," Gov. Hussein al-Jubouri said, adding, "The person who killed him could have taken revenge."

Several Tikrit residents said the killers could have been Hussein loyalists angered at the tribal leader's public disavowal of the ousted dictator.

Hussein still enjoys a degree of popularity in Tikrit, where he built roads, schools and soccer fields. Most other Iraqis express disdain for Hussein, yet anti-U.S. forces have persisted in stepping up attacks on occupation troops in recent days.

On Tuesday, assailants in central Baghdad fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. military vehicle, wounding three soldiers. Another grenade slammed into a U.S. truck on a road near Baghdad, injuring three soldiers.

In western Baghdad, U.S. troops shot and killed two people when their car didn't stop at a checkpoint, witnesses said. Later, two civilians were shot and killed at another checkpoint, one by soldiers who feared he was an insurgent and another by a stray bullet, witnesses said.

The increasing attacks have killed more than 22 U.S. soldiers and wounded dozens more since major combat was declared over on May 1, and many troops have become quicker to pull their guns.

A U.S. sweep dubbed Operation Sidewinder moved against insurgents north and east of Baghdad for a third day Tuesday. The Army's 4th Infantry Division detained 25 suspects, a military statement said. In Fallujah, a blast in a cinderblock building in the courtyard of the al-Hassan mosque killed 10 Iraqis and wounded four late Monday, said Col. Guy Shields, spokesman for the U.S. military in Baghdad. Iraqis insisted the blast was caused by a U.S. missile - an account the military denied.

After the explosion, dozens of people gathered around the site shouting anti-American slogans.

"There is no God but Allah, America is the enemy of God," they chanted, as a crane lifted pieces of concrete.

Fallujah has been a hotbed of anti-American activity and scene of several confrontations involving U.S. troops.

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