Ezzedine
11-07-2003, 21:58
.S. Troops Withdraw From Fallujah Office Friday July 11, 2003 7:49 PM By SAMEER N. YACOUB Associated Press Writer FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - The U.S.-appointed mayor of Fallujah said American forces withdrew from his office Friday - a highly symbolic gesture of confidence that local police can keep him safe in the violence-ridden city. At the same time, U.S. soldiers dramatically decreased their presence at Fallujah's police station after Iraqi officers complained they were in danger of being caught in the crossfire of attacks on coalition forces. U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer, meanwhile, scheduled a weekend news conference where he was expected to announce the makeup of a new governing council of 25-30 prominent Iraqis - the first national Iraqi political body since Saddam Hussein's fall. A senior Western diplomat told The Associated Press earlier this month the council would have a Shiite Muslim majority, to reflect the demographics of the country, and favor internal Iraqi politicians over those who returned from exile. Women are also expected to get a prominent role. Fallujah Mayor Taha Bedewi said Friday he hoped the reduced U.S. troop presence would help ease attacks on both the Iraqi police and U.S. military personnel. ``The Americans were inside the mayor's office building to protect us, but now we have told them that the Iraqi police can handle the issue,'' he said. ``We asked them to leave and they did so... I hope the attacks will stop in this city.'' A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Sgt. Patrick Compton, said he had no information about American forces leaving the mayor's office, although a reporter saw no sign of U.S. soldiers in the vicinity on Friday. Most of the attacks by Saddam loyalists on U.S. and British occupation forces have taken place in a region north and west of Baghdad called the ``Sunni Triangle,'' which includes Fallujah. Compton said a half dozen U.S. soldiers would remain in the area to offer support. There had been about 30 Americans at the police facility. Iraqi police Lt. Jamal Ahmed said the Americans withdrew from the mayor's office shortly before noon. ``We feel happy. We will do our best to protect the building,'' he said. Col. Jalal Sabri, head of the Fallujah police force, said soldiers also left the police station Friday morning. Later Friday, two U.S. Humvees and a third military vehicle were seen outside the police station, but U.S. soldiers said they had returned only temporarily. ``We have just come back to construct barricades for the Iraqi police, but we are not repositioning here,'' said Staff Sgt. Louis Scott. Police in Fallujah said they were willing to work with the Americans, but did not want them using the station as a base, fearing it would make Iraqi officers the target of pro-Saddam insurgents. ``We feel more comfortable because of this withdrawal. We can solve the problems here better than the Americans and communicate better with the people,'' Sabri said. ``We have told the Americans many times that we have the capability. We asked them to give us a chance and see our work. If they don't like how we perform, they can come back.'' Suspected insurgents fired four mortar rounds late Thursday at a U.S. military base near Samarra, north of the capital, wounding three soldiers, the military reported Friday. A patrol that went to inspect the area found one wounded Iraqi and took him to a hospital. It was not clear if he was an innocent bystander or was injured trying to fire the mortars. Before dawn Friday, insurgents fired two mortar rounds into a U.S. base in Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad. Capt. Michael Calvert of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment said there were no injuries or damage to the base, housed in one of Saddam's former palaces. It was the seventh attack on the base in 10 days. Meanwhile, one Iraqi was shot in the neck and another in the abdomen when troops opened fire after a rocket-propelled grenade attack late Thursday on a military convoy on a road leading to Baghdad International Airport. An Iraqi girl sustained shrapnel wounds during a firefight Thursday night between U.S. forces and suspected militants near Balad, 55 miles north of the capital, the military said. The girl was being treated at an Army hospital. Since President Bush declared major combat operations ended May 1, at least 31 U.S. soldiers have been killed by hostile fire in Iraq.