9 US troops wounded in Iraq unrest

Nine more US soldiers were wounded in Iraq but none of their injuries was serious or life-threatening, a US ground forces spokesman told AFP yesterday.

The toll did not include the two killed and nine wounded in the flashpoint city of Fallujah west of Baghdad, where US troops were ambushed by attackers early Tuesday, Captain David Connolly said.

"There are still elements of the former regime who are trying to disrupt our efforts to rebuild Iraq, whether paramilitary or former members of the Baath party" of Saddam Hussein, he said.

"They are continuing to try to use fear as a weapon against the people of Iraq but it won't work," he said, adding the "incidents" had occurred in the country's central and northern regions.