Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

British forces are searching for the gunmen who killed six British soldiers in southern Iraq on Tuesday.

The troops were shot in the town of al-Majar al-Kabir during gunfights with local demonstrators protesting what they considered to be aggressive tactics used by British troops searching for heavy weapons in the area.

Four Iraqis were reportedly killed and 14 others wounded in the shooting. In a separate incident Tuesday, eight British troops were wounded when their helicopter came under fire during a rescue in the same area.

British military officials met with civilian leaders of the town Wednesday. But British officials deny that they gave town leaders a deadline for the gunmen to surrender.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair ruled out sending more troops to Iraq, saying there are enough already there to carry out operations.

In the United States, the general named to lead U.S. forces in Iraq, John Abizaid, said there are enough coalition troops in Iraq to deal with the almost daily attacks against U.S. and British troops. He says the large number of U.S. troops in Iraq will be needed for the foreseeable future, but that some may be allowed to go home after the current offensive against anti-coalition forces is completed. General Abizaid also told the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday he is puzzled that no weapons of mass destruction have yet been found.

In another development, the top U.S. administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, says sabotage is to blame for a power outage that has crippled most of Baghdad since Monday. He says members of the outlawed Baath Party were "almost certainly" behind the downed power lines.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.