US bans diplomatic land travel outside Green Zone

"We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.

The US order confines most American officials to a 3 1/2-square-mile area in the center of the city, meaning they cannot visit US-funded construction sites or Iraqi officials elsewhere in the country except by helicopter. The notice did not say when the suspension would expire.

The Iraqi Cabinet decided yesterday to review the status of all foreign security companies. Still, it was unclear how the dispute would play out, given the government's need to appear resolute in defending national sovereignty while maintaining its relationship with Washington at a time when US public support for the mission is faltering.

Also yesterday, three US soldiers were killed by an explosion near their patrol northeast of Baghdad, the military said. Another soldier was killed in a vehicle accident in the northern province of Nineveh.

Exploiting public rage over the killings of what police said were 11 civilians by Blackwater guards, anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demanded that the government ban all 48,000 foreign security contractors.

Sadr's office in Najaf said the government should nullify contracts of all foreign security companies, branding them "criminal and intelligence firms."

"This aggression would not have happened had it not been for the presence of the occupiers who brought these companies, most of whose members are criminals and ex-convicts in American and Western prisons," the firebrand cleric said in a statement.

Sadr insisted that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki prosecute those involved and ensure that families of the victims receive compensation.

There was no threat by Sadr to unleash his Mahdi Army militia in retaliation for the killings.

However, his statement was significant because it signaled Sadr's intention to stir anti-American sentiment in the wake of the weekend shootings and further undermine Maliki's US-backed government.