U.S. to vet Iraqi forces in Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq — Gunmen waved their weapons in Fallujah’s streets and outside car windows yesterday, cheering what they called a victory as U.S. forces pulled back. However, the Marines insisted they weren’t going far and that a new Iraqi force taking the front line will root out die-hard insurgents.

The new Fallujah Protection Army, put together by Iraqi generals from Saddam Hussein’s ousted regime, likely will include former army soldiers who fought American forces over the past month, Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway said. He promised, however, that anyone who has “blood on their hands” would not be allowed to stay in the force.

Another military official acknowledged that the United States didn’t know who the individual members of the force were and that fighters and commanders still had to be vetted to ensure they are not connected to crimes of the Saddam regime. The force’s leadership could be changed soon because of the screening process, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Scores of Iraqis gathered in the streets, some flashing “V” for victory signs and raising the Iraqi flag. Motorists shouted, “Islam, it’s your day,” and “We redeem Islam with our blood.”

Some, masked with keffiyehs and brandishing automatic weapons, were members of the insurgency that put up stiff resistance against the Marines. Some guerrillas drove through the city, honking horns and waving guns out the windows.

In other developments, an Iraqi delegation plans to meet with U.S. officials today to discuss a five-point proposal for ending the nearly one-month standoff in the city of Najaf between American forces and a radical Shi’ite Muslim cleric.

Representatives of Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr, whom U.S. commanders have vowed to capture or kill, have talked with a delegation of tribal leaders about the proposal. It calls for the cleric’s militia to leave Najaf, and for al-Sadr not to be jailed on a murder charge until a new government is formed, said Hakem al-Shibli, a member of the negotiating team.

The mediators ? made up of tribesmen and a former judge ? received the blessing of the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq’s most senior and influential Shi’ite cleric, Mr. al-Shibli said.

Violence in Iraq also continued yesterday, exactly a year after President Bush, who condemned the reported abuse of prisoners Friday, stood aboard an aircraft carrier to declare major combat over.

A U.S. soldier was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his convoy near the town of Qarraya, 45 miles south of Mosul, the military said. A second soldier died of wounds suffered the day before in a roadside bombing in the same area.

In another bombing yesterday, two foreign contractors were killed and five other foreigners wounded in an attack in the northern city of Mosul, the military and witnesses said. Nationalities of the victims were unavailable.

A British foot patrol came under attack in the southern city of Amarah, sparking a gunbattle with insurgents that left five Iraqis dead and six British soldiers wounded.

The five Iraqis killed were members of radical Shi’ite cleric Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi’s Army, witnesses said.

The clashes were ongoing last night, said British Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Jonathan Arnold, a military spokesman. He confirmed the six British wounded but had no information on Iraqi deaths.

The new Fallujah Protection Army led by Maj. Gen. Jassim Mohammed Saleh, fanned out and imposed a cordon around most of the southern half of Fallujah, replacing Marines who were pulling back to set up a second cordon, about five miles from the city.

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