7 minutes ago
By BURT HERMAN, Associated Press Writer
KUT, Iraq - Dozens of protesters blocked U.S. Marines trying to cross the main bridge over the Tigris River in this southern Iraqi city Wednesday - a more than four-hour standoff sparked by the detentions of two Iraqis.
AP Photo
The incident came after a rock-throwing crowd protesting the American presence here slightly injured a local man working as an interpreter for U.S. civil affairs troops.
The rocks shattered the windshields of at least three Marine vehicles - including trucks carrying medical supplies for local hospitals. Marines fired several warning shots to turn back the demonstrators.
The incidents caused Marines to postpone plans to start foot patrols side-by-side with local police in Kut, about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Marines had seized a police station in Kut earlier in the day.
Marines from Task Force Tarawa entered Kut more than a week ago without opposition, only to find a local Shiite cleric, Said Abbas, had occupied City Hall and claimed control.
U.S. forces say he has links to Iranian groups pushing for Islamic rule, but have abandoned plans to forcibly eject him. Instead they are ignoring him.
Abbas' followers were trying to ensure they weren't ignored Wednesday. About 200 protesters erected makeshift barricades of metal pipes, carts and a chain to block a convoy of about 20 U.S. military vehicles on the Tigris bridge. Built during British colonial rule, the bridge is the landmark gateway to the city and a key traffic artery.
The demonstrators said they were protesting the detentions of two local leaders by U.S. forces.
U.S. Marine officers declined to comment on the detentions. During the protest at the bridge, another Iraqi man was seen being detained by U.S. forces at their headquarters in the city, hands bound behind his back and a hood over his head.
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