Two U.S. servicemen were killed on Wednesday by an Iraqi soldier when a quarrel ended up with a shooting, an Iraqi interior ministry source said.

Six other U.S. troops were wounded in the afternoon shootout during a joint patrol in the northern city of Mosul, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, a local security source said that four U.S. soldiers were shot dead and three others injured.

The Iraqi soldier, identified as Brzan Mohammed, opened fire at U.S. troops after he was beaten in the face, the security source said, adding he was killed by the U.S. soldiers in a return of fire.

The U.S. military in Iraq reportedly confirmed two troops were killed and six were wounded in an exchange of fire with an Iraqi soldier without giving details.

Mosul, about 400 km north of Baghdad, is one of the remaining strongholds of al-Qaida and other insurgents.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2008)