By The Associated Press
Major developments Thursday in Iraq:
-U.S. Marines negotiated a ``tentative'' agreement to pull back forces from Fallujah, a deal that would lift a nearly monthlong siege and allow an Iraqi force led by a former Saddam Hussein-era general to handle security. Under the deal, American forces will pull back, and an all-Iraqi force will enter the city Friday and provide security. It will consist of up to 1,100 Iraqi soldiers led by a former general from Saddam Hussein's military.
-Elsewhere, 10 U.S. soldiers were killed, eight in a car bombing south of Baghdad. The two others were killed in a convoy attack in Baghdad and roadside bomb in Baqoubah, north of the capital.
-Gunmen shot and killed a South African civilian in Basra and seriously wounded his driver, Iraqi police said.
-Hundreds of people from across Italy gathered for a peace march near St. Peter's Square demanded by kidnappers of three Italians in Iraq. The march has been promoted by the families of the captives, who have been threatened with death unless Italians stage a ``huge demonstration'' in Rome to denounce the government's involvement in Iraq.
-During a ceremony marking the official end of the Spanish mission, Spain's defense minister said Madrid will not send any more soldiers to Iraq.
-Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged that support among Americans for the war is declining. ``When lives are lost people start to wonder about it, and it is reflected in the polls,'' Powell said.
-Former members of Saddam's security service are believed to be conducting a loosely coordinated campaign of bombings and attacks that they prepared even before the U.S. invasion last year, a defense official said, citing an intelligence report.
-A majority of Iraqis want the U.S. and British troops to leave within the next few months. The CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll showed that 57 percent of Iraqis, said they would like to see coalition troops leave ``immediately, within the next few months,'' while 36 percent said they would like to see those troops stay longer.
-Five Democratic senators have asked congressional auditors to investigate the use and activities of private military contractors in Iraq. In a letter to congressional auditors, the senators said the private firms - which employ as many as 20,000 people in Iraq - are increasingly doing security work, but they are unregulated by the federal government.
Major developments Thursday in Iraq:
-U.S. Marines negotiated a ``tentative'' agreement to pull back forces from Fallujah, a deal that would lift a nearly monthlong siege and allow an Iraqi force led by a former Saddam Hussein-era general to handle security. Under the deal, American forces will pull back, and an all-Iraqi force will enter the city Friday and provide security. It will consist of up to 1,100 Iraqi soldiers led by a former general from Saddam Hussein's military.
-Elsewhere, 10 U.S. soldiers were killed, eight in a car bombing south of Baghdad. The two others were killed in a convoy attack in Baghdad and roadside bomb in Baqoubah, north of the capital.
-Gunmen shot and killed a South African civilian in Basra and seriously wounded his driver, Iraqi police said.
-Hundreds of people from across Italy gathered for a peace march near St. Peter's Square demanded by kidnappers of three Italians in Iraq. The march has been promoted by the families of the captives, who have been threatened with death unless Italians stage a ``huge demonstration'' in Rome to denounce the government's involvement in Iraq.
-During a ceremony marking the official end of the Spanish mission, Spain's defense minister said Madrid will not send any more soldiers to Iraq.
-Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged that support among Americans for the war is declining. ``When lives are lost people start to wonder about it, and it is reflected in the polls,'' Powell said.
-Former members of Saddam's security service are believed to be conducting a loosely coordinated campaign of bombings and attacks that they prepared even before the U.S. invasion last year, a defense official said, citing an intelligence report.
-A majority of Iraqis want the U.S. and British troops to leave within the next few months. The CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll showed that 57 percent of Iraqis, said they would like to see coalition troops leave ``immediately, within the next few months,'' while 36 percent said they would like to see those troops stay longer.
-Five Democratic senators have asked congressional auditors to investigate the use and activities of private military contractors in Iraq. In a letter to congressional auditors, the senators said the private firms - which employ as many as 20,000 people in Iraq - are increasingly doing security work, but they are unregulated by the federal government.
