Iraq conflict takes different turn

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents killed three U.S. soldiers with roadside bombs, the military reported Tuesday, and former Iraqi intelligence officers demanding jobs hurled stones and charged American forces guarding occupation headquarters in the capital.\nLarge sections of Baghdad were in turmoil. There was an explosion inside the Foreign Ministry compound about a half mile from the confrontation outside the U.S.-led occupation headquarters.\nAcross the city, U.S. solders were met with a demonstration by Shiite Muslims after closing a mosque and allegedly arresting the imam. Late in the afternoon, U.S. troops fired concussion grenades and shots in the air to disperse the crowd, which grew by the hour.\nBy nightfall, an estimated 200 American troops backed by helicopters and at least six M1A2 tanks had sealed off the area, and more Americans and Iraqi protesters converged on the scene. As the midnight curfew approached, however, the standoff eased, with the Americans pulling back most of their forces. Shortly afterward, the protesters began leaving the area, too.\nL. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator for Iraq, said the trouble in the capital did not reflect a turn for the worse.