Roadside bomb injures one American soldier in Mosul, fears insurgency spreading north

MOSUL, Iraq — Gunmen ambushed U.S. soldiers on patrol with a roadside bomb then opened fire on them in Mosul on Monday, wounding one, as fears grew that the anti-coalition insurgency was spreading north a day after two American soldiers were killed here and their bodies mauled.

In the capital Baghdad, the Iraqi Governing Council pledged renewed efforts to fight "terrorism" and warned Middle Eastern broadcasters to avoid reports that incite violence.

Near the northern city of Kirkuk, an oil pipeline was on fire Monday. Adel al-Qazzaz, manager of the Northern Oil Company, said he believed the cause was sabotage. Insurgents have repeatedly targeted pipelines, and sabotage of oil infrastructure has become a major problem for the U.S.-run coalition.

In the Mosul attack, gunmen activated a roadside bomb and opened fire on the convoy, wounding a soldier, the military said. The Americans responded with a barrage of fire, a witness said.

Residents said U.S. troops immediately cordoned the area in Hay al-Dobat neighborhood. "I heard a strong explosion saw the Americans randomly shooting in all directions," said Omar Hamed.

Also Monday, an Iraqi Sunni Muslim religious leader called on U.S. forces and resistance groups to observe a one-week cease-fire to allow the Iraqis to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, media reports said.

Adnan al-Duleimi, the head of Iraq's Sunni endowments, appealed to guerrillas to cease operations for a week and also called coalition troops to stop raiding houses and chasing locals. His comments were broadcast by Arab satellite channels.

But there were fears that the insurgency was spreading northward from its original stronghold in the so-called Sunni Triangle, located in central Iraq north and west of Baghdad.

On Sunday, gunmen in Mosul shot two American soldiers driving through the center of this city 250 miles north of Baghdad, sending their vehicle crashing into a wall. About a dozen swarming teenagers dragged the men from the wreckage and beat them with concrete blocks, witnesses said.

"One of the soldiers was shot under the chin and the bullet came out of his head. I saw the hole in his helmet. The other was shot in the throat," said Bahaa Jassim.

Earlier reports said the soldiers' throats had been slit. Some people looted the vehicle of weapons, CDs and a backpack, Jassim said.