Marines Hand Over Positions in Fallujah

Saturday, May 1, 2004

(6:26 AM ET)

The Associated Press

``Initially it appears that the transition to the Fallujah Protective Army is working,'' said Marine. Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne. ``It's a delicate situation. The Fallujah Protective Army is the Iraqi solution we've all been looking for in this area.'' The Fallujah force will be under the ultimate command of the U.S. Marines. Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. operations in the Middle East warned that ``it may be necessary to have a strong fight in there,'' if the insurgents don't cooperate.

A US soldier from the 2nd ACR keeps guard at a traffic control point set up in front of the US base 'Golf', on the main road connecting Najaf and Kufa, at Najaf, Iraq, Saturday May 1, 2004.

Image Credit: Saurabh Das -- AP

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- AP
Scores of Iraqis took to the streets of Fallujah on Saturday to celebrate the withdrawal of U.S. Marines, who turned most of their positions over to Iraqi security forces under part of agreement to end the monthlong siege of the city.

U.S. commanders, however, vowed that the troops would return if the Iraqis failed to maintain order.

In Fallujah, people gathered in the streets Saturday morning, some flashing ``V'' for victory signs and raising the Iraqi flag. Their numbers increased as the day went on.

Saeed Abid, who fled the city during the fighting, returned Friday to be reunited with his family.

``I'm happy to see my sons, my wife and grandsons again. I'm happy to see them alive,'' said Abide, a grocer.

Violence persisted, however.

In Baghdad, insurgents blasted a U.S. military tanker truck Saturday on the highway leading from the capital to Fallujah. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the northern city of Mosul, a roadside bomb blast killed two foreign security contractors and wounded five other foreigners, the U.S. military and witnesses said. There was no immediate information on the nationalities of the foreigners.

Private companies provide security for top officials in Iraq and also guard supply convoys.

On Friday, two Marines were killed in a car bombing and two sailors died in another incident, raising the death toll to 138 for April, adding to what was already the deadliest month for American forces since the war began in March 2003. Some 1,360 Iraqis have also died, according to a count by The Associated Press - more than in any month since Saddam Hussein's fall.

The two Marines were killed outside of Fallujah. There were no details on the deaths of the sailors, who were assigned to the Marine force in the region.

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2003 © The Associated Press.

Dan