Roadside bombers attacked

A U.S. aircraft fired on suspected Sunni paramilitary fighters planting a bomb, killing one and wounding two, the U.S. said Friday -- the latest sign of trouble in a program that has been a pillar of the American strategy to stabilize Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said he appreciated the contribution of the Sunni paramilitary members in the fight against militants, but warned that he would not tolerate subversives in their ranks.

A U.S. statement said the airstrike was launched Thursday night after four men, believed to be members of the Sons of Iraq, were seen planting a roadside bomb near Taji, site of a large U.S. air base about 12 miles north of Baghdad.

The Sons of Iraq are Sunni Arabs who broke with the insurgents and began working with the U.S. military to provide security in their areas.

U.S. commanders credit the more than 90,000 paramilitary fighters with playing a major role in turning the tide against Al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni insurgent groups.

But the Shiite-led government is suspicious of the fighters because many were insurgents. Shiite leaders also believe that some of the members are infiltrators who are still working with the insurgents.

The U.S. statement said one of the men was found dead at the scene of the airstrike and the two wounded were captured in a nearby house. They were handed over to Iraqi police.

The attack occurred in a rural area where several bombings had occurred in recent months, the U.S. said.

Taji residents reached by telephone said the incident followed a growing rift between the local Sunni paramilitary fighters and the mostly Shiite security forces.

The residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisals, said the security forces consider the Sunni paramilitary fighters disobedient, though they are supposed to take orders from Iraqi police officers and soldiers.

The paramilitary fighters, on the other hand, believe that they never got full credit for pushing Al Qaeda in Iraq from the area and were betrayed by the Americans, who raised and funded the force but transferred it to Iraqi control in October.