BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military keeps a low profile in Sadr City, an impoverished Shiite suburb of Baghdad, with patrols a rare sight following an armed clash between American troops and demonstrators one month ago.

Troops from the 354 Civil Aaffairs Brigade made a brief stop here Sunday, arriving in Sadr square in three Humvees and a jeep, but this time to check on works to expand two of the district's main roads.

The arrival, as usual, draws the attention of children, some of them plain curious or friendly, and others who just want to jeer at the occupying force.

"It's a citywide road improvement and maintenance program," says lieutenant colonel Joe Winderlich, who said the works aimed to expand two main roads that stretch over 15 kilometers (10 miles).

"We're going to do 20 percent of the project in Sadr City alone," he added as colleagues took pictures and filmed construction areas. "This crew will be staying for three months" to oversee the works, he said.

The U.S.-led administration running Iraq has long believed that improving infrastructure and building facilities will help win the friendship of Iraqis, long-oppressed under the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

Shiites, who make up about 60 percent of Iraq's 25-million population are considered vital to US plans to rebuild the country.

The vehicles then drive off, passing in front of a telecommunications tower from which hang eight flags, most of them either black, red or white religious flags flapping alongside a national Iraqi flag.

On this site on August 13, an attempt by a US military helicopter to remove a religious flag, led to a massive demonstration and the first clash between Shiites and U.S. occupation forces, according to witnesses.

The U.S. army said one Iraqi was killed and four others were wounded in the exchanges of fire, although Iraqi sources said the wounded numbered 13. In the wake of the clash, the army decided to suspend patrols in the area.

Nearby are the offices of firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, son of Mohammad Sadeq Sadr, killed by Saddam's regime in 1999. But there are no signs of hostility here as the US forces depart.

Unlike the holy cities of Kufah and Najaf, both around 160 kilometers (100 miles) to the south, militias run by Shiite political movements are absent from the streets, lessening the risk of clashes.

Questioned about this, an official at Sadr's office would only cite the cleric's sermon last Friday, in which he called on his militia to await orders from the religious authorities before taking charge of security at holy sites.

U.S. forces have given militias a deadline of next Saturday to disarm or face forced disarmament and possible arrest.

This could prove a major problem for the Americans as another member of Sadr's office said Sunday there was no way the militia would lay down its weapons. "The Americans came two days ago. They tried to disarm us. But we said we could not do it," Sheikh Juad al-Issawi told AFP.

Their refusal has been reinforced since the massive double car bombing on August 29 that killed leader Shiite political leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim and at least 82 other people at the Tomb of Ali in Najaf.

This, combined with a handful of failed attacks on other Shiite clerics, is seen by the movements as a clear sign they must arrange their own security.

One official from the armed wing of Hakim's Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) confirmed this. "Since the death, the Badr Brigades decided that the Americans were incapable of maintaining security in the holy city of Najaf and the Hawza (top Shiite religious council) took charge of security in the town," he said.

"The brigades take action anywhere that is necessary," he added on condition of anonymity, saying the movement relied on its own intelligence reports.