Rebels' attacks keep up

A U.S. official decried the killing and public mutilation of Americans' bodies.
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) -- Insurgents attacked a U.S. military convoy and a humvee was burned today near Fallujah, witnesses said, a day after the grisly killing and mutilation of four American civilians in the city.
It was not clear if there were any casualties in today's assault. Associated Press Television News footage showed smoke pouring from the vehicle, which had been abandoned on a roadside just outside the city. Witnesses said the humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
U.S. officials said they could not confirm the attack.
Also today, two explosions near a U.S.-escorted fuel convoy wounded at least one Iraqi in northern Baghdad, witnesses said. APTN footage showed U.S. soldiers putting a wounded person on a stretcher inside an armored vehicle.
Americans mutilated
Meanwhile, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq today condemned the killing and mutilation of the four American contractors, and said their deaths would not go unpunished.
"Yesterday's events in Fallujah are dramatic examples of the ongoing struggle between human dignity and barbarism," L. Paul Bremer said at a graduation ceremony for police cadets.
"Four Americans were attacked and their bodies subjected to barbaric maltreatment. The acts we have seen were despicable and inexcusable," he said. "They violate the tenets of all religions including Islam as one of the foundations of civilized society."
"Their deaths will not go unpunished," Bremer said.
"Our sympathy goes out to the families of all civilian, military, Iraqi and coalition who have given their lives in the war to liberate Iraq and free it from terrorism," Bremer said. "They have not died in vain."
In Fallujah, Iraqi police manned standard roadside checkpoints, but no U.S. troops could be seen inside the city. Shops and schools were open.
Residents' threats
Some residents today vowed to repel U.S. forces if they raid the city.
"We will not let any foreigner enter Fallujah," said Sameer Sami, 40. "Yesterday's attack is proof of how much we hate the Americans."
Another resident, Ahmed al-Dulaimi, 30, said, "We wish that they [U.S. forces] would try to enter Fallujah so we'd let hell break lose."
On Wednesday, jubilant mobs dragged the burned, mutilated bodies of four American contractors through the streets and strung two of them up from a bridge after rebels ambushed their SUVs.
Some of the bodies also were loaded onto the back of a donkey-pulled wooden cart later Wednesday and paraded through Fallujah's streets as crowds clapped and whistled. It was not clear where the bodies of the Americans were early today.
Similar to Somalia
The abuse of the corpses was similar to the scene more than a decade ago in Somalia, when a mob dragged corpses of U.S. soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation. The images were broadcast worldwide and became the subject of the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."
Five U.S. soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division also died Wednesday when a bomb exploded under their M-113 armored personnel carrier north of Fallujah, making it the bloodiest day for Americans in Iraq since Jan. 8.
U.S. officials denounced the violence and vowed to stay the course in Iraq.
The White House blamed terrorists and remnants of Saddam Hussein's former regime for the "horrific attacks" on the American contractors.
"It is offensive, it is despicable the way these individuals have been treated," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Referring to the planned June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis, McClellan said "the best way to honor those that lost their lives" is to continue with efforts to bring democracy to Iraq.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the contractors, all men, "were trying to make a difference and to help others."
Worst violence
Fallujah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of the worst violence on both sides of the conflict since the beginning of the U.S.-led occupation a year ago.
Chanting "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans," residents cheered after Wednesday's assault on two four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles left both cars in flames.
Iraqis said insurgents attacked the contractors with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. After the attack, civilians, none of whom appeared to be armed, gathered to celebrate, dragging the bodies through the street and hanging two of them from the green iron bridge spanning the Euphrates River.
One body was tied to a car that had a poster in its window of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who recently was assassinated.
in Gaza City by the Israeli military.
Many of those in the crowd were excited young boys who shouted slogans in front of television cameras.
U.S. officials did not identify the dead or the nature of their work because the next of kin had not yet been notified.
Security firm
However, early evidence indicated they worked for Blackwater Security Consulting, a company based in Moyock, N.C., the company said in a statement. The security firm hires former military members from the United States and other countries to provide security training and guard services. In Iraq, the company was hired by the Pentagon to provide security for convoys that delivered food in the Fallujah area, the company statement said.
In Baghdad, U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the coalition would not be deterred from its mission to rebuild Iraq, and that numerous reconstruction projects were moving forward nationwide.