One year after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the United States again defended its global war on terror but the Iraqis renewed the protest against the occupation of their country.

"I don't think it is the war in Iraq that was the source of instability throughout the world," US Secretary of State Colin Powell told a press conference in Baghdad.

He was answering a query raised by a Western journalist if the war has provoked terrorism, which could rarely be seen in Iraq before the US-led invasion but now spread around the world.

"We have seen terrorist attacks all over the world that have nothing to do with Iraq," Powell said. "They are attributable to the fact that we have terrorists in the world wanting to go after those nations who are trying to build a better future for their people." Powell pledged that the United States will crack down on terrorism in Iraq "as soon as possible," assuring that his top envoy in Iraq Paul Bremer and his team "have a good sense of who were responsible" for the escalated terror attacks in Iraq this year.

Iraq witnessed the deaths of over 400 civilians in the past 40 days alone, making the period the deadliest since US President George W. Bush declared the major fighting in Iraq over on May 1 last year.

Powell said the priority is to increase the size of Iraqi security forces, "because at the end of the day they should be better able to get the intelligence they need to deal with these kinds of threats."

He made the remarks in front of a remaining audience after a dozen Arab journalists walked out of the press room in protest of the US killing of two Iraqi reporters working with Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV channel.

The two were shot by US soldiers in Baghdad on Thursday night. One cameraman was killed in action while the other died of wounds later. The US military said the incident was under investigation and the soldiers might be acting out of confusion and mistake.

Powell arrived in Baghdad for an unannounced visit early Friday, on the eve of the first anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. During the trip, he praised US troops and coalition workers for the removal of "a horrible dictatorial regime."

In a speech to mark the anniversary, Bush said in Washington that the US-led coalition of over 80 nations "is sending an unmistakable message to the terrorists: These killers will be tracked down and found. They will face their day of justice."

"We will never turn over Iraq to terrorists who intend our own destruction. We will not fail the Iraqi people, who have placed their trust in us," he promised.

Iraqis, however, rallied in such cities as Baghdad midday Friday to send their message: The occupation forces should be responsible for the continuous instability and the collapse of Iraq's social structure.

Marching peacefully in this capital city, thousands of Sunni and Shiite Muslims also urged the unity among different factions and vowed to fight for the end of occupation.

"No, no to occupation, no, no to dictatorship and yes, yes to unity," read the banners they held.

"We will sacrifice for you Iraq, with our blood and soul," they shouted. The slogan was familiar to Iraqis for years, but with the word "Saddam" instead of "Iraq."

In Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad, where the resentment against the American forces was prevalent, hundreds of Muslims gathered and called for continuous resistance against the occupation forces.

"We hope the resistance, in all their forms, will continue after your brother (Shiite Muslims) realize that the invasion is not for the sake of some of our people but for their own agenda," said Harith al-Dhari, head of the Muslim Scientists Board, a Sunni group.

Thousands of Iraqi civilians have become the victims of the resistance against US-led forces and the terrorist attacks that thrived across the country since the war.

On Friday night, less than two hours after Powell left the coalition headquarters in central Baghdad, several projectiles exploded inside the heavily fortified compound, but caused no casualty.

Earlier, a US military helicopter made an emergency landing in Fallujah, said the US army. But Arab television channels quoted witnesses as saying that the plane was shot down by insurgents.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2004)