Separate Attacks Wound 4 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq

At least four American soldiers were wounded Saturday in guerrilla attacks in Kirkuk and Baghdad, and several British soldiers were slightly injured in Basra when Iraqis angry over fuel and power shortages began throwing stones and torching vehicles.

A 173rd Airborne Brigade on patrol in the northern city of Kirkuk came under rocket-propelled-grenade and small-arms fire, said Lt. Col. Bill McDonald, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division operating in the area.

Two soldiers wounded in the explosion were in stable condition, McDonald said. The troops returned fire, but there was no information on any casualties among the attackers, he said.

In Baghdad, two soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack on their Humvee, said Maj. Todd Mercer of the 82nd Airborne Division. The military provided no details on those soldiers’ condition.

As night fell in Basra, burning tires lighted the sky and witnesses said they saw troops wound an Iraqi gunman. British military spokesmen, who reported that a military vehicle had been set on fire, said calm was returning. They had no information on Iraqi casualties.

Witnesses said soldiers fired into the air to keep back a crowd at a gas station and again when stones were thrown at them. Troops rescued the drivers of a Kuwaiti fuel tanker that was set ablaze.

As temperatures have soared above 120 in Basra, fridges and air conditioners have stuttered to a halt. Household generators are running low on diesel.

As well as criticizing the British for failing to restore basic services, protesters also accused Kuwaitis of involvement in smuggling out Iraqi oil.

The U.S.-led coalition said it thwarted a diesel-fuel smuggling operation when it boarded a ship off the port of Umm al Qasr and forced it to return to shore. It said the ship’s owner and country of registration were not immediately determined.

L. Paul Bremer III, the U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq, announced the seizure of the ship during a news conference.

On Friday night, the British royal ship Sutherland seized the tanker Navstar, which was carrying at least 2,420 tons of diesel “critically needed in Iraq,” Bremer said. The crew will be turned over to Iraqi authorities for prosecution, he added.

Also Saturday, the military announced that Saddam Hussein’s former interior minister -- No. 29 on the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis -- is in U.S. custody. It said that its July announcement of his capture was an error.

Mahmud Dhiyab Ahmad surrendered Friday, the U.S. Central Command said.

The July announcement “was bad information, that’s all,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nick Balice, a Central Command spokesman.