US Marines attempting to secure the centre of Mosul during a meeting of aspiring political leaders of the city came under sniper fire yesterday in an incident that has highlighted the escalating tensions in northern Iraq even as looting dies down and life begins to return to normal.
Five youths aged between 11 and 15-years-old were admitted to the Al-Wahada Hospital, some with bullet wounds and others with fragment injuries, said Dr Ali Aqbah Anwar, the head of the hospital's casualty ward.
He said he had heard that up to 10 people may have been killed when Marines opened fire after an attempted suicide attack. "The Americans were defending themselves," he said, though he emphasised that the numbers of dead and injured could not be immediately verified.
Reports that dozens had been killed and many more injured when the Marines fired into a crowd appeared to have been exaggerated as rumours swept the city throughout the afternoon.
A spokesman for the US Army said that Marines had not fired into a crowd, but had aimed a sporadic burst of fire towards the top of a building from where they believed at least two snipers were firing on them.
Following the shooting, American Tomcat and Hornet fighter jets patrolled the skies over Mosul agressively for four hours, circling so low that buildings were buffeted by mighty sonic booms. The incident suggests the coalition is still far from securing the safety of the city which, like all of the major centres on the northern Iraqi plain, fell without a fight last Friday morning after the army of the former Iraqi government simply disappeared.
It is at least the second time that the Americans have come under fire while trying to make their presence felt in the centre of Mosul, which, with a population of 1.2 million, is the second largest municipality in the country.
The Americans appear to have established a significant presence in Mosul, taking over the large Al-Mosul Airport and bringing in more troops.
The fighter jets that patrolled the air yesterday took off from Mosul, and during the afternoon supply planes were landing at the more remote airstrips of the airport complex.
The build-up suggests the Americans are developing Mosul into a base for at least a semi-permanent presence in northern Iraq. Mosul is close to the rich oilfields of Kirkuk, and just a couple of hundred kilometres east of the Iraqi border with Syria.
Yesterday's incident occurred at midday, as Marines gathered at the old Governate building to provide security and support for a meeting of tribal leaders who hope to help establish a new administration for the city.
The Army spokesman said that about 150 people had gathered outside the building as the meeting began inside and were staging a quiet protest. The crowd soon became angry and turned over a locally-owned car and set it alight. Soon after, "we were fired upon," the spokesman said.
At least two snipers on the roof of a building about 75 metres in front of the Governate fired off a number of rounds at the Marines. The Marines returned sporadic fire, he said, for at least two minutes but only towards the top of the building opposite, not into the crowd.
The shooting, which is being investigated by the American military's civic affairs wing, came as the city is slowly pulling itself together after three days of looting and anarchy that erupted in the wake of the regime's fall.
Dr Ali said that between 10 and 15 people arrived at his hospital every day suffering from gunshot wounds.