8 U.S. troops killed in Iraqi riots

NAJAF, Iraq -- Supporters of an anti-American cleric rioted in four Iraqi cities Sunday, killing eight U.S. troops and one Salvadoran soldier in the worst unrest since the spasm of looting and arson immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein.\nThe U.S. military reported Sunday two Marines were killed in a separate "enemy action" in Anbar province, raising the toll of American service members killed in Iraq to at least 610.\nThe rioters were supporters of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They were angry over Saturday's arrest on murder charges of one of al-Sadr's aides, Mustafa al-Yacoubi, and the closure of a pro-al-Sadr newspaper.\nNear the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, a gunbattle at a Spanish garrison killed at least 22 people, including two coalition soldiers -- an American and a Salvadoran.\nFighting in the Baghdad, Iraq, neighborhood of Sadr City killed seven U.S. soldiers and wounded at least 24, the U.S. military said in a written statement.\nA resident said two Humvees were seen burning in the neighborhood and some American soldiers had taken refuge in a building. The report could not be independently confirmed, and it was unclear whether the soldiers involved were those who died.\nA column of American tanks was seen moving through the center of Baghdad Sunday evening, possibly headed toward the fighting.\nThe military said the fighting erupted after members of a militia loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took control of police stations and government buildings in the neighborhood.\nProtesters clashed with Italian and British forces in other cities in a broad, violent challenge to the U.S.-led coalition, raising questions about its ability to stabilize Iraq ahead of a scheduled June 30 handover of power to Iraqis.\nWith less than three months left before then, the U.S. occupation administrator appointed an Iraqi defense minister and chief of national intelligence.\n"These organizations will give Iraqis the means to defend their country against terrorists and insurgents," said L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq, said at a press conference.\nAbout three miles outside the holy city of Najaf, supporters of al-Sadr opened fire on the Spanish garrison during a street protest that drew about 5,000 people. The protesters were angry over the arrest of the cleric's aide, said the Spanish Defense Ministry in Madrid, Spain.\nThe attackers opened fire at about noon, said Cmdr. Carlos Herradon, a spokesman for the Spanish headquarters in nearby Diwaniyah, Iraq.\nThe Spanish and Salvadoran soldiers inside the garrison fired back, and assailants later regrouped in three clusters outside the base as the shooting continued for several hours.\nTwo soldiers -- a Salvadoran and an American -- died and nine other soldiers were wounded, the Spanish defense ministry said. No other details were available.\nMore than 200 people were wounded, said Falah Mohammed, director of the Najaf health department. El Salvador's defense minister said several Salvadoran soldiers were wounded.\nThe death toll of at least 20 included two Iraqi soldiers who were inside the Spanish base, witnesses said.\nSpain has 1,300 troops stationed in Iraq, and the Central American contingent is of a similar size. The Salvadorans are under Spanish command as part of an international brigade that includes troops from Central America.\nMultiple train bombings in Madrid last month that killed 191 people have been blamed on al Qaeda-linked terrorists, who said they were punishing Spain for its alliance with the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.\nSpain's new government, elected just days after the March 11 train bombings, has promised to make good on its pre-election promise to withdraw all Spanish troops from Iraq unless command for peacekeeping is turned over to the United Nations.