Fallujah, Iraq, May 28: Gunmen opened fire on American troops at a checkpoint early today, killing two US soldiers and wounding nine others in the troubled town of Fallujah - a hotbed of support for Saddam Hussein's fallen Baath party, the US military said. US troops returned fire, killing two attackers and capturing six Iraqis for questioning. Hours later, two American military police officers were injured, at least one seriously, after two attacks with rocket-propelled grenades on a northwest Baghdad police station, said lt. Clint Mundinger of the US army's 709th military police battalion. In the past three days, seven American soldiers have died in attacks or accidents in Iraq, but the American general commanding troops in Baghdad said today that security is improving in Iraq and that US authorities are making progress on improving life for ordinary Iraqis. The attack in Fallujah happened around midnight at a checkpoint in the town about 50 km west of Baghdad.

Initial reports said the Americans were fired upon from many directions, including from a mosque, US officials said. But town's people said only two men fired shots and that the US troops quickly killed them.

Bureau Report