American soldiers killed at least four Iraqi civilians yesterday in Fallujah, while a US Apache helicopter crashed nearby, after being hit by ground fire. Paul Bremer, the US administrator of Iraq, said attacks on the coalition had come down dramatically and plans to hand over power to Iraqis were well under way, although it would not be possible to hold elections before the June 30 deadline. A US Army foot patrol came under rocket attack in the town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, after a noisy anti-American protest and the soldiers killed at least four civilians when they returned fire, including an elderly woman, witnesses said. "Two rockets were fired at them," said Khalas Ahmed, a 15-year-old boy selling cigarettes from a nearby kiosk. "The Americans started firing back. The bullets hit my kiosk and I dived to the ground." The woman who was killed was on a balcony of a nearby house and a passing car was caught in a hail of bullets which killed all three men inside, other witnesses said. Hundreds of people took part in the demonstration, which was called to protest against the arrest of a young woman by troops in the town on Monday. Speakers said the woman was alone at home at the time and that her arrest was an insult. "Is it sensible that a great nation (the US) storms houses where there are only women and children?" asked one speaker. "This woman represents the honour of the people of Fallujah." Fallujah, 50km west of Baghdad, is a stronghold of anti-US guerillas who have mounted almost daily attacks on coalition forces. At least three US helicopters have crashed around the town in less than two weeks, including the Apache yesterday. "Our initial information tells us that it's possible that the (Apache) helicopter was downed by, or at least was struck by, enemy fire," a US military spokesman said after the chopper crashed near Thirthar lake, north of Fallujah. Both crew members survived, other spokesmen said. Bremer told CBS television's The Early Show that "In the last three or four weeks we've seen a rather dramatic reduction in the number of attacks on the coalition, they are down by about 50 per cent." In another development, US soldiers have detained a Sunni Muslim religious leader after a man he invited to speak during evening prayers at his mosque urged locals to attack occupation forces in Iraq, the army said. The imam was detained in Jabal, near the flashpoint town of Baquba, after the speaker "incited violence against coalition forces, telling people it was their duty to attack coalition forces, the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps and Iraqi police," said US army spokeswoman Major Jossyln Aberle. **PHOTO CAPTION*** U.S. Army troops recover an Apache attack helicopter from a field near the restive central Iraqi town of Falluja January 13, 2004. (Akram Saleh/Reuters)