IRAQ: Iraqis began celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last night, but festivities were subdued by intense US security after the killings of American soldiers at the weekend.
Thousands of Sunni Muslims gathered at Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque, one of Sunni Islam's holiest shrines, to pray and participate in the Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting.
Sheikh Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of Iraq's Sunni religious administration or Waqf, called on anti-coalition fighters to observe a week-long ceasefire to put an end to the "blast of explosives, bombs and shooting".
"I ask also the occupation forces not to deal with Iraqis as terrorists. We are peaceful apostles of peace and not evil," said the Sheikh during an Eid sermon at Baghdad's Oum al-Qora mosque.
There were concerns the final hours of Ramadan - the so-called "night of power" - would inspire further violence, with American forces stepping up their presence on the streets of the Iraqi capital.
But last night only the sound of gunfire rang out as Sunni Iraqis celebrated the sighting of the new moon that marks the end of fasting in traditional style. Shia Iraqis will observe Eid later in the week.
However, there appears to be little chance that the insurgents or American forces in Iraq will respect the call for peace after a dramatic escalation in violence over the past month.
Ramadan opened with five almost simultaneous suicide bombings: four against police stations and one against the Baghdad offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross, prompting it to withdraw expatriate staff. A fortnight ago a massive car bomb killed 19 Italian military police in the southern city of Nassiriya. The US military responded with a series of airstrikes and raids on suspected terrorist facilities around the capital and along the Syrian border.
A military spokesman said: "This is just an ordinary day for us. If we see a guy with a gun out there, we're going to get him."
Sheikh Douhi Abdul Jalil Ibrahim, at the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad, the centre of the Sunni faith in Baghdad, said: "There is a real desire for peace among Iraqis, but I cannot see the violence ending until the Americans leave."
US military helicopters clattered low over the Abu Hanifa mosque.
"I don't think of this as Eid. If the Americans left and there was a new government, with law and order, then every day would be Eid," said Abdel Wadoud Doukhi as he left the mosque.
US forces are on high alert for an intensification of attacks following the end of Ramadan. For most Sunnis, the holy month ends on Monday, but for Shias, who make up 60 per cent of Iraq's population, Ramadan ends a day later this year.
Two US soldiers were shot in the northern city of Mosul on Sunday, before being dragged from their civilian car in broad daylight and beaten and stabbed by an angry crowd of young men, witnesses said.
A rash of bold attacks by anti-American insurgents has led to the deaths of 70 US soldiers in the past month. Also on Sunday, another soldier was killed and two were wounded by a roadside bomb near the town of Baquba, 65 km north of Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the US-appointed Governing Council announced yesterday it was taking legal action against Dubai-based Arabic news channel Al Arabiya, accusing it of inciting violence, and sent police to its Baghdad bureau to shut it down. Arabiya has broadcast several audio tapes purportedly from Saddam Hussein, calling on Iraqis to attack and drive out US-led forces.
Additional reporting from Reuters