3 Iraqis Killed, 4 U.S. Troops Wounded in Separate Attacks

Three Iraqis were killed and four American troops were wounded Wednesday morning in two separate attacks apparently aimed at jolting newly arrived U.S. Marines in the volatile Sunni Triangle cities of Fallouja and Ramadi.

The strikes came on the day that soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division formally handed over authority to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. A changeover ceremony was briefly interrupted by rescue helicopters rushing overhead to evacuate two injured Marines.

Also Wednesday, an Iraqi interpreter for Time magazine was critically wounded in an ambush near the publication’s Baghdad bureau, the latest in a string of attacks aimed at those believed to be collaborating with Americans.

Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commander of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said his unit -- which has lost five men in attacks during the last week -- was undeterred. “Although Marines don’t normally do nation-building, once given the mission, nobody can do it better,” he said.

The first attack occurred about 1:30 a.m. when a seven-vehicle military convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device and then small-arms fire, according to witnesses and a military spokesman.

In a subsequent exchange of gunfire, three Iraqis were killed and two Marines were wounded, officials said.

There were conflicting reports whether the fatalities were bystanders or attackers. Witnesses accused U.S. soldiers of firing indiscriminately, hitting homes and shattering a hospital window. Local television aired pictures of two vehicles riddled with bullet holes.

Military officials said they had no information about civilian casualties. One of the patrol’s Humvees was destroyed, the military said.

About 8:30 a.m., another Marine patrol was struck by a homemade bomb in Ramadi, wounding two Marines, officials said.

Military officials have been bracing for attacks to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.

In the southern province of Babil, the police chief of Jalf Sakhr district, Maj. Yassin Ghdayeb, was shot and killed on his way to work, local police officials told Associated Press.

A day earlier, 11 police officers and police cadets were killed in two separate ambushes on their vehicles.

The Time magazine interpreter suffered gunshot wounds to the head and body while driving to work Wednesday morning.

Iraqi interpreters have become a more frequent target, particularly those working for media companies.

Times staff writer Tony Perry contributed to this report.