The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Baghdad

The British military says an airstrike in Basra has killed four gunmen armed with rocket propelled grenades.

British spokesman Maj. Tom Holloway says the group was attacked just after midnight by a warplane. He says four gunmen died when their vehicle was blown up. Another gunman was injured.

The British and U.S. military are using air power to support Iraqi government forces. These are conducting sweeps of Iraq's southern oil capital looking for militants and illegal arms.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military says two Marines died Sunday in Iraq's western Anbar province when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb.

The deaths raise to at least 4,036 the number of U.S. military members who have died since the war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Meanwhile, differences have emerged between the U.S. and Iraq on how to deal with Shiite militant Muqtada al-Sadr, with the Americans appearing more willing than the Shiite-led government to concede a legitimate political role to the anti-U.S. cleric. The gap appeared after fighting broke out last month between Iraqi forces and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in Basra. Clashes quickly spread to Baghdad, where U.S. and Iraqi troops are still confronting Shiite militiamen in the Mahdi Army stronghold of Sadr City.