http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040402/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=716FALLUJAH, Iraq - A cleric on Friday condemned the mutilation of four slain American contractors in this defiant Muslim city, but did not criticize the killings.
U.S. officials, meanwhile, promised to hunt down those responsible but said clashes could be avoided if city officials act promptly against the insurgents. No U.S. forces were seen in the city, 35 miles west of Baghdad.
Sheik Fawzi Nameq spoke during weekly prayers at the Hmood al-Mahmood Mosque, a few blocks from the scene of the deadly ambush that killed the four contractors, whose charred remains were dragged through the streets.
"Islam does not condone the mutilation of the bodies of the dead," he told some 600 worshippers. "Why do you want to bring destruction to our city? Why do you want to bring humiliation to the faithful? My brothers, wisdom is required here."
Clerics in Fallujah strongly oppose the U.S.-led occupation and often use sermons to criticize American authority.