A US soldier guards an entrance to a local police station as Iraqis queue outside to get ID cards in the village of Uja, outside of Tikrit, Iraq. American soldiers yesterday sealed off the village where Saddam Hussein was born and ordered adults to register for identity cards that will let them move in and out of the community. --AP

American troops clashed with rioters carrying Saddam Hussein's picture in a Baghdad suburb yesterday, and heavy smoke billowed from the mayor's office in a city west of the capital following a big explosion.

Two civilians were killed in the Baghdad riot and the US military said two soldiers were wounded.

In northern Iraq, American troops sealed off the village where Saddam was born and began issuing identity cards to the villagers to determine who can move in and out.

There were conflicting claims about what triggered the clash at Abu Ghraib, a suburb on the western side of the capital. Iraqis said it broke out when US troops tried to clear market stalls from a main road. But a US officer at the scene, 1st Lieutenant Joseph Harrison, said it began with a grenade attack against American soldiers that left two of them wounded.

Youths began throwing stones at troops and Iraqi police and set tires ablaze. Protesters carried Saddam's picture and shouted "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great."

After a three-hour interlude, gunfire erupted again as helicopters hovered overhead and US armored vehicles moved into the area to control the crowd after hundreds of Iraqis emerged from Friday prayers.

Machine gunfire and 10 explosions were heard, and fleeing civilians said the US troops had "come under attack." A photographer on the scene saw several civilian casualties being evacuated. Within a half hour the gunshots subsided.

Later, mortars fell on an Iraqi police station near the market. The Americans said they arrested two Iraqis carrying a mortar firing tube.

In Fallujah, a center of Sunni Muslim resistance 40 miles west of the capital, a strong explosion rocked the center of the city at midday. Heavy, black smoke could be seen billowing from the mayor's office.

Police said that following the explosion, residents shouted at the authorities that their neighborhood had become a target because the US-appointed mayor and other officials worked there. Civil defense officer Ahmed Khalil said police shot and killed a resident during the ensuing argument.

Later, residents angered by the police action broke into the smoldering building and looted the mayor's office. They eventually dispersed when US Humvees arrived with helicopters patrolling overhead.

American soldiers yesterday sealed off the village where Saddam Hussein was born and ordered adults to register for identity cards that will allow them to move in and out of the community.

The New York Times reported yesterday that senior US officials believe the former Iraqi leader, who has been on the run since US forces took over Baghdad in April, is playing a major role in coordinating and directing attacks against American troops.

Meantime, in Washington, saying the United States cannot turn back on its commitments, the House of Representatives gave President George W. Bush the US$87.5 billion he sought to rebuild Iraq.

"The funding package is an essential part of the Iraq exit strategy," said Republican Representative Roy Blunt, the House's No 3 Republican. "The sooner we bring prosperity back to the region, the sooner we bring our sons and daughters home safe."