CNN's Karl Penhaul said he talked to a pair of U.S. soldiers who said protesters opened fire first, shooting at American forces with AK-47s. The soldiers said the troops fired back.

In Washington, Pentagon officials also reported that soldiers took aim after shots were fired at them. The incident is under investigation, Pentagon officials said.

U.S. Central Command said soldiers came under fire from Iraqis armed with AK-47 assault rifles. "The unit exercised its inherent right to self defense and returned fire," the Central Command statement said.

Central Command denied the accuracy of reports from the Qatar-based, Arabic-language news network Al-Jazeera that U.S. soldiers fired unprovoked into a crowd.

(from CNN's web page)

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