Thats nice, it means you can all go home...
Unless you have something better to do....
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Falluja force 'restoring order'
Some see the Iraqi force's entry into Falluja as a defeat for the US
A new Iraqi military force taking control of the restive city of Falluja is beginning to restore order, a senior US marine officer has said.
The all-Iraqi force has begun moving into positions vacated by withdrawing US marines.
The move comes under an agreement reached after a month-long US siege of the predominantly Sunni Muslim city.
US Marine Col John Coleman said: "There is a percentage of the city where normalcy has returned."
Meanwhile, four suspected insurgents have been killed by US forces in the capital, Baghdad.
'Leadership qualities'
The Iraqi force moving into Falluja consists of about 1,100 men and is to be led by one of Saddam Hussein's former generals, Muhammad Abdul-Latif.
Some Falluja residents have been celebrating their entry into the city as a victory over the US marines.
Many within the Iraqi force are former soldiers - and some are believed to have fought against the US marines during the siege.
US forces also face opposition from Shia militiamen
Col Coleman, chief of staff of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the western province that includes Falluja, said: "If some of those individuals have now decided there is an alternative way, then all the better."
He said Gen Abdul-Latif, a former military intelligence officer who was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein, was a man with "good leadership qualities".
Col Coleman added: "I know enough of his current activity to know that he is a man of his word and delivers what he says, and I know enough of his background to know that he was not in favour of the things that went on this country before.
"He spent time in prison here and was exiled because he didn't approve of the way the country was run. That's about all I personally know and that's enough for me, measured against his current words and deeds.
Jassim Muhammad Saleh, a former officer in Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard, had been identified as head of the force, but his reported ties to the former regime led to him being replaced.
During a brief news conference in Falluja, Gen Abdul-Latif condemned the gruesome killing and mutilation of four American private security contractors there last month, which triggered the siege of the city. However, he added that the people of Falluja collectively were not to blame.
Artillery barrage
The four suspected insurgents who died in Baghdad overnight had been firing on American aircraft, the US military said.
Their position was hit with a heavy barrage of US artillery.
"Enemy attackers had engaged two aircraft providing close air support for a ground patrol with small arms fire," said a spokeswoman.
"A coalition forces ground patrol engaged the enemy attackers and called in artillery support."
Elsewhere in Iraq, US forces were involved in sporadic overnight clashes with Shia Muslim militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr near the holy city of Najaf. These were far lighter than those that occurred on Monday, which are believed to have left 20 Shias dead.
Further north, four US soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled over during a patrol near Khalis, about 60km (40 miles) north-east of Baghdad.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3683689.stm
Unless you have something better to do....
-----------------------------
Falluja force 'restoring order'
Some see the Iraqi force's entry into Falluja as a defeat for the US
A new Iraqi military force taking control of the restive city of Falluja is beginning to restore order, a senior US marine officer has said.
The all-Iraqi force has begun moving into positions vacated by withdrawing US marines.
The move comes under an agreement reached after a month-long US siege of the predominantly Sunni Muslim city.
US Marine Col John Coleman said: "There is a percentage of the city where normalcy has returned."
Meanwhile, four suspected insurgents have been killed by US forces in the capital, Baghdad.
'Leadership qualities'
The Iraqi force moving into Falluja consists of about 1,100 men and is to be led by one of Saddam Hussein's former generals, Muhammad Abdul-Latif.
Some Falluja residents have been celebrating their entry into the city as a victory over the US marines.
Many within the Iraqi force are former soldiers - and some are believed to have fought against the US marines during the siege.
US forces also face opposition from Shia militiamen
Col Coleman, chief of staff of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the western province that includes Falluja, said: "If some of those individuals have now decided there is an alternative way, then all the better."
He said Gen Abdul-Latif, a former military intelligence officer who was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein, was a man with "good leadership qualities".
Col Coleman added: "I know enough of his current activity to know that he is a man of his word and delivers what he says, and I know enough of his background to know that he was not in favour of the things that went on this country before.
"He spent time in prison here and was exiled because he didn't approve of the way the country was run. That's about all I personally know and that's enough for me, measured against his current words and deeds.
Jassim Muhammad Saleh, a former officer in Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard, had been identified as head of the force, but his reported ties to the former regime led to him being replaced.
During a brief news conference in Falluja, Gen Abdul-Latif condemned the gruesome killing and mutilation of four American private security contractors there last month, which triggered the siege of the city. However, he added that the people of Falluja collectively were not to blame.
Artillery barrage
The four suspected insurgents who died in Baghdad overnight had been firing on American aircraft, the US military said.
Their position was hit with a heavy barrage of US artillery.
"Enemy attackers had engaged two aircraft providing close air support for a ground patrol with small arms fire," said a spokeswoman.
"A coalition forces ground patrol engaged the enemy attackers and called in artillery support."
Elsewhere in Iraq, US forces were involved in sporadic overnight clashes with Shia Muslim militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr near the holy city of Najaf. These were far lighter than those that occurred on Monday, which are believed to have left 20 Shias dead.
Further north, four US soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled over during a patrol near Khalis, about 60km (40 miles) north-east of Baghdad.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3683689.stm
