Eyewitness: Baghdad

The unit responded to reports of an explosion at a suspected bomb factory in a Sunni area in west Baghdad. Shortly after they arrived there was a secondary explosion which killed one Iraqi soldier, seriously injured two others and left several US servicemen and civilians with minor woulds. The pictures show the immediate aftermath of the second explosion Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

The injured men were dragged into the courtyard of a nearby house in an attempt to prevent insurgents shooting them as they received emergency medical treatment. One lost a leg, the other suffered serious shrapnel wounds. It is not know whether they survived Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

The incident was part of an increasingly fierce battle in and sround Amiriya in west Baghdad in which the US army has suffered heavy casualties. Military leaders claim that local residents are now rising up against al-Qaida forces in the area and the US is supplying the "freedom fighters" with weapons Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

However, soldiers on the ground claim that the tactic means that Iraqis who were attacking them two weeks ago are now brandishing arms supplied by the US army Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

American and Iraqi soldiers relax at an Iraqi army post in Amiriya, a Sunni neighbourhood in west Baghdad which is reportedly controlled by al-Qaida fighters. The Iraqi soldier on the left is praying Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

A US soldier smokes a cigar as his unit searches a deserted house Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

A suspected al-Qaida fighter in Amiriya is captured by the Stryker unit Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

The Stryker unit stops to check the identities of fighters in Amiriya. The men, who wear white bandanas, are allowed to operate by US forces but are not integrated into the police or army Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian