"The soldiers were inflating the tire of an aircraft when either the tire or nitrogen exploded," she said.

In another development, dozens of followers of firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr who had holed up in a mosque in the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala were detained in an overnight raid involving US-led coalition troops.

Yesterday, the mosque gates were sealed by a lock engraved with: "American Lock. 100 Percent US-made".

Witnesses said the operation was carried out by US-led coalition troops, with no apparent presence of Iraqi police forces.

But senior coalition spokesman Charles Heatly told reporters in Baghdad: "It was an Iraqi police operation and a very successful one.

We welcome this action by Iraqi police to detain criminals in Iraq.

"Our indication is that those involved claimed loyalty to Moqtada Sadr," Heatly said.

The US-led coalition imposed an overnight curfew in Karbala after last week's clashes between Sadr supporters and followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most senior Shi'ite cleric in Iraq.

At least one person was killed and two dozen wounded in that fighting.

- Nampa-AFP

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