U S troops killed 46 Iraqis and captured eight they said tried to ambush U S convoys in central Iraq, ending a weekend in which guerrillas killed a dozen people from four nations helping the U S military. The deaths of the foreigners sparked new concern among Washington?s allies about the risks of getting involved in stabilising the country.

A U S military spokesman said US troops killed the Iraqis when the 4th Infantry Division repelled several coordinated ambush attacks on U S convoys round Samarra, north of Baghdad. The attackers used mortars, grenades and small arms fire, and tried to block the route of one convoy with a makeshift barricade, Lieutenant-Colonel William MacDonald told reporters.

?In all the clashes, coalition firepower overwhelmed the attackers, resulting in significant enemy losses,? he said. Some attackers wore the uniform of the Fedayeen, a militia formed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein before US-led forces toppled him in April, he added. US combat losses total 74 for November and 301 for the whole campaign. The month also saw heavy losses among other US allies, notably 19 Italians killed in a suicide bombing. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not expect the violence to deter US allies. But the Japanese, South Korean and Spanish governments now face serious questions over their commitments to help the United States after it attacked Iraq and ousted Saddam despite opposition from many key allies.

Public opposition to deploying troops in Iraq is likely to be increased by grisly photographs showing Iraqi youths celebrating and kicking the corpses of the dead Spanish agents. Youths were jumping on the wreckage of the Spaniards? burnt-out vehicles. ?We?re happy about what happened,? said 20-year-old Abdul Qader, a student. ?We don?t like the Americans or the Spanish.?

Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who defied public opinion to back George W. Bush, remained defiant despite calls to bring home the 1,300 Spanish troops in Iraq. ?The fanatical hate which accompanied this latest atrocity has given us inconceivable images which we must never forget. We have no option but to face this fanaticism head on,? he said in a televised address to the nation.