Three hundred Iraqi army recruits have resigned from the first battalion set up by US occupation forces. Only 400 soldiers are left on Thursday, following the mass walkout over terrible pay and conditions. Salaries in the new army range from 50 US dollars a month to 180 for a colonel, a US occupation administration source said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official also confirmed there had been discipline problems - with some recruits refusing to obey instructions before resigning. "My understanding is that they felt they should be paid more money, for example, than the police," he said, adding that the occupation administration will review all security force salaries. **Bad beginning*** Iraq's administrators had been building a new Iraqi army after dismissing all the members of Saddam Hussein's armed forces following the invasion in April. "There may have been some confusion when they first joined the Iraqi army. They weren't sure exactly what their terms and conditions are," the official said. What remains of the Iraqi First Battalion is serving with the US 4th Infantry Division. The official said a second Iraqi battalion is now training "and there are no resignations from that." Another group of more than 2000 recruits are expected to begin their training next year, he said. **Bomb Attack Hits US Army Base in Ramadi*** A bomb attack left casualties near the entrance to a US army base in the Iraqi town of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, a military spokesman said. "There was some kind of an event it may have been a suicide attack," he told reporters. The attack took place about 1:30 pm (1130 GMT) in the town 100 kilometres west of the Iraqi capital. "There are reports of casualties but apart from that we don't have any further details," said the spokesman. Another military source said there were injuries among U.S. troops. Elsewhere, two Iraqi civil defence force members were injured in separate attacks in the Baqubah region, 60 kilometres northeast of Baghdad, a security source and one of the victims said. Mohammed Shannan, 35, suffered bullet wounds in the stomach and leg in a drive-by shooting at 8.00 am (0500 GMT) as he was leaving his house, Lieutenant Shaker Mahmud said Thursday, according to AFP. The incident occurred 20 kilometres west of Baqubah, he added. In Baqubah itself, Uday Sobhi told AFP he was wounded in the foot when a grenade thrown by unknown attacker exploded. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Ramadi graffiti : An Iraqi boy stands in front of graffiti reading 'death to traitors' in Ramadi, 100 kms west of Baghdad. (AFP/Henghameh Fahimi)