Fallujah, Iraq ? Two Iraqis stepped from their car and opened fire early Tuesday, killing two Americans and wounding nine in a city whose people have made clear that U.S. troops are not welcome.

The violence in Fallujah, a hotbed of support for Saddam Hussein, was the latest in three deadly days for the U.S. military in postwar Iraq — further evidence the country remains a perilous place for its American occupiers.

Eight American soldiers have died in Iraq since Sunday — in direct attacks, accidents and explosions. Nearly two dozen have been injured. Hours after the attack in Fallujah, two American military police officers were wounded in rocket-propelled grenade assaults on a Baghdad police station.

Whether recent incidents are connected is unclear. The American general commanding troops in Baghdad said the attacks, which he blamed on extremists loyal to Saddam, appeared to be uncoordinated.

“It’s very small groups — one or two people — in isolated attacks against our soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Buford Blount III, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, which fought its way to Baghdad and is now trying to keep the peace.

On Tuesday afternoon, six Iraqis were being interrogated about the shooting in Fallujah, a city where Saddam had many strong supporters — and a place where bitterness toward the Americans has been particularly aggressive. Two Iraqi attackers were killed in the firefight.

Details of the incident, which happened around midnight at a Fallujah traffic checkpoint, some 30 miles west of Baghdad, were hazy.

Initial reports said the Americans were fired upon from many directions, including from a mosque, U.S. military officials said. But townspeople said only two men opened fire, and both were quickly cut down by American forces.