TEHRAN, April 16: Fierce fighting has flared between ethnic Arabs and Iranian security forces in a province bordering Iraq, with some sources saying three people had been killed.
Iran's official IRNA news agency said clashes erupted on Friday in the Arab-majority oil-rich province of Khuzestan over reported plans to change the ethnic make-up of the area.
Qatar-based satellite television Al Jazeera said three Arabs were killed, many more injured and as many as 250 arrested after banks and police stations were set ablaze. But local police quoted by student news agency ISNA would only confirm that one person had been shot at.
Police said that 137 people behind the rioting were arrested while another eight were injured. The unrest, which broke out in three areas of the province's main city Ahvaz, resulted in damage to public buildings and banks.
IRNA reported three injured and, quoting an official at the governorate's office, said the area was calm and the police now had the situation under control.
The agency said a forged letter calling for modifications to the area's ethnic composition had started the fighting, which it said was limited to Ahvaz.
A local official said the letter was attributed to former vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi and dated from when he ran President Mohammad Khatami's office. But Mr Abtahi denied on his website that he was behind the letter, which reportedly said that "Arabs must emigrate, Arab names of towns and villages must become Persian (in Khuzestan)". -AFP
A US soldier was killed in a bomb blast north of Tal Afar
A car bomb has exploded outside a Shia mosque in Iraq, killing at least five people, police said.
The blast happened on Friday during midday prayers at al-Subaih mosque in Baghdad, said police Colonel Ahmad Abud.
One section of the mosque collapsed. Frantic worshippers in blood-spattered clothes searched through the rubble for loved ones, as wailing women beat their chests in grief.
Body parts littered the ground. One man clutched a child's foot, shaking and weeping.
Aljazeera learned from Iraqi police sources that five Iraqis were killed and more than 20 injured in the booby-trapped car explosion.
"I was inside the mosque when the explosion happened, and I saw many dead and injured," said a worshipper and grocery store owner Abd al-Allah Faraj.
"This is a cowardly and savage act that aims to create conflict among Iraqis."
Medical sources at al-Kindi hospital said the number of casualties was expected to rise.
A number of people were also believed to be wounded, Abud said.
The US military had no immediate information on the incident.
US soldier killed
One US soldier was killed and another wounded when a bomb exploded near their patrol vehicle in northern Iraq, the US military said in a statement.
The attack took place early on Friday north of Tal Afar, about 80km west of Mosul, at about 2.30am local time, the statement said.
Clashes between fighters and US forces are common in Tal Afar
Clashes between fighters and US and Iraqi forces are common in the region.
"The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending next of kin notification," it added.
As of Thursday, 21 April 2005, at least 1563 members of the US military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
At least 1189 died as a result of hostile action, according to the US Defence Department. The figures include four military civilians.
Basra bomb
Aljazeera reported seven Iraqi policemen were injured, including a brigadier, in a roadside bomb attack in the centre of Basra city.
The blast destroyed the vehicle they were travelling in.
The Islamic Army in Iraq has claimed responsibility for downing a Bulgarian commercial helicopter carrying security contractors north of Baghdad.
In video released on the internet, the group claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter north of Baghdad, in which 11 people, mostly Americans, were killed.
Theauthenticity of the video could not be verified.
The video showed the burning wreckage, bodies and one of the passengers being shot dead after he survived the crash.
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