Supporters of the Amal faction, which is aligned with the Hizbullah movement, patrolling a street in Beirut on May 7. Anwar Amro/Agence France-Presse

BEIRUT: Members of the opposition group Hizbullah, trying to enforce a general strike called by labor unions, fought Wednesday with government supporters and blocked roads in this capital, escalating the country's worst political crisis since the 1975 to 1990 civil war.

Hizbullah supporters blocked roads with burning tires and garbage cans, and set cars on fire to back a strike called to protest the government's economic policies and to demand higher minimum wages. They and their political opponents also engaged in occasional gun battles.

A security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press said at least five people were hurt during the clashes, including a cameraman for Hizbullah's television station, Al Manar.

The group said the protest, including blocking roads, would be extended until the government annulled the decisions made this week that affected Hizbullah.

Two other similar Iranian boats in the area did not approach as closely.

The USS Typhoon tried unsuccessfully to establish radio contact with the Iranian boat after it came within an estimated 200 yards of the Typhoon on Thursday, outside Iranian territorial waters. A Navy official says the ship then fired the flare and continued on its way northward without incident.

Mr Bush was endorsing the recommendation of General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, to have a 45-day pause following the departure of the combat forces that made up the “surge”. He vowed to give the four-star general “all the time he needs” to assess the impact unwinding the surge would have on security in Iraq.

Earlier this week Gen Petraeus frustrated lawmakers by refusing to say whether he expected further troop reductions this year. On Thursday, however, Robert Gates, US defence secretary, said he hoped the Pentagon could withdraw more troops later this year.

“I do not anticipate this period of review to be an extended one, and I would emphasise that the hope, depending on conditions on the ground, is to reduce our presence further this fall,” he said. “But we must be realistic. The security situation in Iraq remains fragile.”