FALLUJA, Iraq (REUTERS) — U.S. Marines agreed to ease their grip on Falluja Thursday, striking a deal to entrust security to former Iraqi army officers in hope of ending a month-long siege which has cost hundreds of lives.
But new explosions as U.S. jets pounded three areas in the volatile city and sketchy details from U.S. officers and local police made it unclear whether the battle with an estimated 2,000 Sunni Muslim insurgents was indeed ending.
On one of the bloodiest days of the bloodiest month for U.S. troops in Iraq — 10 soldiers were killed, including eight by a car bomb — any progress toward a peaceful settlement would be welcome news in Washington.
Previous deals in Falluja, notably a cease-fire, have broken down and heavy U.S. air strikes this week and some tough talk by President Bush seemed to herald a possible all-out assault. But Marines and police said troops would now start withdrawing from their siege lines.
Falluja police chief Sabar al-Janabi told Reuters the withdrawal would be completed by Friday. He said U.S. officers seemed to have backed away from insistence on conducting joint patrols with Iraqi forces in the city, where U.S. commanders say about 200 foreign Islamic militants may also be operating.
A Marine spokesman at Falluja confirmed U.S. forces were pulling back from some areas under a security deal agreed with former officers of the Iraqi army.
Thousands of people have fled Falluja, where doctors say 600 died during a first U.S. offensive three weeks ago in retaliation for the killing of four American contractors.
A Reuters journalist watched U.S. Marines open fire on a minibus at a checkpoint on the outskirts, setting the vehicle ablaze. Up to four civilians died, a policeman said.
Eight soldiers killed
Eight soldiers of the 1st Armored Division were killed and four wounded by a car bomb near Mahmudiya, just south of Baghdad, a U.S. military spokeswoman said, making at least 10 soldiers dead in three attacks Thursday.
That took to at least 125 the number of U.S. service personnel killed in action this month, far outnumbering the toll in the three weeks it took to dash to Baghdad and topple Saddam a year ago. In all, 534 have been killed since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Faced with such violence and armed defiance in two key towns as Washington prepares to return sovereignty to Iraqis, Bush had given commanders a free hand: “Our military commanders will take whatever actions necessary to secure Falluja,” he said.
Mounting losses and rising costs may be eroding his support for November’s presidential election, polls indicated.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to Bush to show restraint, saying bloodshed could turn Iraqis against the occupying forces just as the United Nations is working with Washington to restore an Iraqi government on June 30.
The Pentagon has ordered dozens of tanks and other armored vehicles to areas of Sunni Muslim insurgency centered on Falluja, 30 miles west of Baghdad. Its forces are also squeezing a Shi’ite militia holding Najaf, to the south.
Tanks on way
Commanders around Falluja and elsewhere in the restive “Sunni triangle” west and north of Baghdad have appealed for more firepower. The Pentagon, in a reversal of policy, said it was sending dozens of tanks and other armored vehicles to Iraq.
About two dozen M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks are headed for the Marines, whose area of operations includes Falluja, said a U.S. defense official. A similar number was headed for the First Infantry Division, based at Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown.
Around the holy city of Najaf, U.S. forces set up roadblocks, tightening a squeeze on the Mehdi Army militia loyal to anti-American Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has taken refuge among the shrines.
