IRAQ: US forces in central Iraq are coming under daily attack from Saddam loyalists in what is tentatively being called the beginnings of a resistance movement, writes Jack Fairweather from Baghdad.
One US soldier was reported killed in Baghdad last night while over the weekend two were killed in the troubled area to the west of the city, raising to nine the number of soldiers that have been killed over the past fortnight in ambushes and drive-by shootings. The attacks are growing in sophistication, with US officials describing a level of planning and organisation not seen since Saddam's fedayeen militia engaged briefly in guerrilla-style warfare during the war.
Forty-two US servicemen have died in fighting or accidents in Iraq since May 1st, when President Bush declared an end to major military operations.
Lt Gen William Wallace, the commander of 5th Corps and who has sent over 15,000 soldiers from 160,000 coalition troops stationed in Iraq to bolster the region, said: "There are a number of organised groups that are intent on attacking American soldiers." He added: "We don't believe them to be under a central leadership and we are taking appropriate action to deal with the threat. This is not a resistance movement."
Military intelligence believes the groups include ex-Baathists and pro-Saddam militia, but with Iraqis increasingly angry by what they see as an American occupation that has robbed them of security, it is clear that such groups draw from a wide membership.
At the scene of one of the weekend's attacks, at a military compound in Tikrit, two gaping holes could be seen in the side of the building where one American was killed and two injured in a characteristic hit-and-run operation. Hundreds of bullet casings from the US response, which had been two slow to stop the attackers escaping by car, lay scattered on the ground before the barbed-wire entrance to the building.
"It can be a little tense at times, but generally we have an excellent relationship with the Iraqis," said one soldier, standing guard as groups of locals stood outside to furiously denounce the American presence in the town that was Saddam's power base outside Baghdad.
"The American's promised us liberation," said Mr Abdul Hamid, a shopkeeper, "but we have no water, electricity and no protection from the Ali Babas. I will give them a month and then I will start fighting against them too."
It is Fullaja, however, where US soldiers killed 18 demonstrators at a pro-Saddam rally shortly after the war, which remains the epicentre of anti-US feelings.
10,000 troops have been drafted into the town's garrison in an effort to maintain law and order.
"We're the same troops that took Baghdad. We've seen one hell of a lot of fighting and that's why we've been sent here," said Capt John Ives, an indication of the sort of battle mentality which has not been welcomed by the local population.
In Tikrit and other towns in central Iraq, the lack of public facilities and security remain the two biggest causes of malcontent. But in Falluja, the ferocity of the American response to the daily shooting incidents in the town threatens to lead to a vicious circle of attack and counter-attack.
No figures exist for the number of Iraqis killed in postwar Iraq, but over the weekend in Falluja alone, five were shot by American soldiers, including two of the mayor's security personnel who had been sent to investigate an incident.
Mr Amal Ahmed, part of an angry mob in Falluja's market place, one of the town's flashpoint areas, recalled angrily how his cousin was killed on Monday.
"He was sitting at a café, when a group of Iraqis threw a hand grenade at the major's compound. The Americans began shooting very wildly. Although my cousin was sitting far away, he was killed by three bullets. It has made me want to pick up a gun and attack Americans. I wish Saddam was still here to protect us," Mr Ahmed said.
Nearby an American patrol was conducting house-to-house searches, another source of grievance to the locals.
"It's kind of scary," said a soldier. "We hear about guys going to their local mosques and saying they shot an American, and being given a great cheer. I don't think there is a resistance movement in Fullaja, at least not yet. But we are going to have to be careful."