BAGHDAD - A US soldier was killed in Baghdad and a marine died of wounds sustained in the western Al-Anbar province, the US-led coalition announced Thursday.
"One Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed and another was wounded when an improvised explosive device struck a convoy Wednesday in Baghdad," the US military said in a statement.
A separate statement reported that a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force "died May 12 from wounds received earlier that day in the Al-Anbar Province while conducting security and stability operations."
The statement did not say how the US marine was wounded, saying that "the release of more details about the incident could place our personnel at greater risk."
"1 MEF force protection measures preclude the release of any information that could aid enemy personnel in assessing the effectiveness or lack thereof with regard to their tactics, techniques and procedures," the statement said.
The latest deaths brings to 777 the number of US soldiers killed since the start of the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Meanwhile militiamen loyal to Shiite Muslim radical leader Moqtada Sadr ransacked police headquarters in the central holy city of Najaf and seized a senior officer at gunpoint overnight, prompting clashes that left three Iraqis dead, police and medics said Thursday.
Members of Sadr's Mehdi Army blocked off streets around the headquarters before 10 men broke into the building, seized 40 assault rifles and ammunition, and dragged away the deputy police chief, officers said on condition of anonymity.
They said General Hassan Lilu was led away with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher to his back and a gun to his head.
The militiamen took him to their stronghold around the mausoleum of Imam Ali in the city center where he was beaten up before being released a few hours later.
They also stole three police vehicles in the raid at about 10:00 pm (1800 GMT) Wednesday as a rapid reaction team of US tanks and armored vehicles rumbled into 1920 Revolution Square, less than two kilometers (one mile) from the mausoleum, Najaf's holiest shrine.
Fierce fighting broke out for about three hours which left three Iraqis dead and seven wounded, hospital staff and witnesses said.
"We have three people killed and seven wounded, three of them seriously," said Hassan Toufaili, a doctor at the city's Hakim hospital.
"Most of the casualties are civilians."
Among the wounded was a bearded man dressed in black, a hallmark of Sadr's militiamen. Bloodied young men were seen being wheeled into the emergency room.
Captain Brandon Anderson, a US military officer, confirmed the ransacking of police headquarters.
He said it was not yet clear how many people had been killed.
The remains of one burnt vehicle stood off the square and cut-off power lines littered the streets.
"I saw militia hiding in the cemetery firing at a US tank, which then responded by firing at them," said Muslim Jaber, a 42-year-old Najaf resident.
Overnight, bullets and other projectiles were seen whizzing over the city's vast cemetery, adjacent to the square. A building in the area was set alight.
Meanwhile, one of Iraq's main Shiite Muslim factions urged residents to join a mass demonstration Friday against the militia presence around the city's main shrine, before calling it off soon afterwards.
Sheikh Sadreddin al-Kubbanji of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) -- an Iran-backed religious party -- urged "a quarter of a million" Iraqis to "defend their religion and their marjaiya (religious leaders) and to restore security in their town".
Later, however, he told reporters, "We have decided to postpone this demonstration to open the way for efforts to each an agreement" allowing for the militia to leave.
Kubbanji has repeatedly called for the Mehdi Army to leave this city, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad.
On Tuesday, demonstrators protesting against the militia's presence here were forced to disperse when Sadr's fighters fired shots into the air.
On Wednesday, Sadr vowed to carry on fighting the US-led occupying forces and die a martyr, shortly after Shiite leaders said they had agreed on a plan to end the violence that has shaken much of central and southern Iraq.
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