IRAQ: Rebels killed 12 members of an Iraqi security force entrusted with pacifying the country's most restive town, Falluja, officers in the force said yesterday.
The attack was believed to be the first time Gen Mohammed Latif's Falluja Brigade had come under fire since it set out to impose security in Falluja last month following fierce fighting between US troops and insurgents.
US troops have pulled back from the city under a deal to deploy the force.
Falluja is on the front line of efforts to stabilise Iraq, which is banking on Iraqi security forces and police to play a bigger security role, backed by a US-led multinational force, after the United States hands over sovereignty on June 30th.
Officers in the Falluja Brigade said 10 people were wounded in the mortar attack on a camp housing the forces.
Gen Latif was not in the area at the time and no US troops could be seen, they said.
A medical official said that six of the dead had been taken to his hospital.
Fiercely anti-American, Falluja has been relatively calm since Gen Latif and other former Iraqi generals offered to help US troops restore calm in the town.
The US wants Gen Latif to rein in guerrillas, help capture or kill foreign fighters and collect weapons from rebels.
He describes Falluja as a town of peace-loving people and believes US troops should go home.
The attack will put Gen Latif's security forces through their first major test and raise questions over whether the Americans will redeploy their positions closer to the town.
Iraqi police and security forces boosted their presence in Falluja following the attack, witnesses said.
Several shops closed up just after the attack.
US troops are still within striking distance of Falluja but the American military has tried to keep a low profile to give attempts to calm the city an Iraqi facade.
Members of Gen Latif's force said a joint patrol with American troops had been scheduled to pass through Falluja at the time of the attack and was still planning on going through.
Witnesses said US military vehicles were on the edge of the city but not in offensive positions.
US troops launched an offensive on Falluja after four US contractors were killed by guerrillas and then mutilated and dragged through the streets by residents on March 31st.
After weeks of fierce fighting between the Americans and guerrillas which killed hundreds of Iraqis and scores of US troops, the US military struck a deal with Gen Latif, a former general in Saddam Hussein's army.
Set up under a peace agreement to end the clashes, the 2,000-strong Falluja Brigade is composed mainly of Ba'athists who served in Saddam's army, which was disbanded by US forces.
Taming Falluja, a volatile mix of Saddam loyalists, Muslim militants and tribes, has been one of the biggest challenges facing American troops.
Eleven Iraqis, including women and children, were killed on Tuesday in clashes between US forces and insurgents near Falluja, hospital sources said.
- (Reuters)