US troops to hand over control of Najaf

Arab Times ^ | 21st Sep 2003 | AFP

[mdittmar]

US troops are set to hand over control of Najaf to Salvadoran, Honduran and Spanish troops, delegating authority in the troubled Iraqi holy city that is home to a restive Shiite Muslim population.

The US Marines said that Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Woodbridge of the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment would pass the flag to Spanish Brigadier General Alfredo Cardona in a ceremony on Tuesday.

Major Jose Luis Sanchez Falero said that in the last two days, the Salvadoran and Honduran battalions had received all the equipment they had been missing, including vehicles and communications gear.

"The transfer of control of Najaf is imminent," he told AFP.

Cardona acknowledged in a recent interview that the Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Dominican and Honduran battalions had received only half of their allotted materiel, forcing postponement of the Najaf handover. "The soldiers of Honduras and El Salvador, deployed in Najaf, are not equipped sufficiently for their mission," Cardona said.

"They seem operational because they are conducting joint activities with the Americans. But to go out all alone requires more equipment."

The Latin brigade will be taking responsibility for one of Iraq's most sensitive corners, which is still reeling from an August 29 car bombing that killed a revered Shiite cleric and 82 other people at a main shrine. Najaf also posed a delicate problem for the Americans, who insisted on disarming the Iraqi militias that poured out onto the streets after the bombing.

But a looming showdown appeared to have been averted with agreement on a special force to protect Muslim holy places, and the militias have taken a low profile in the last week.

The four Latin contingents were deployed in Iraq after reaching an agreement with the US military for the supply of necessary and accessory equipment. The brigade comprises 1,300 Spanish soldiers and a total of 1,100 from the Central American countries, tasked with maintaining security and stability in Najaf and Al-Qadissiyah, two of the five southern provinces under Polish aegis.

"If the situation stays unchanged, I have enough soldiers and materiel to accomplish the mission without any problem," said Cardona.

Starting Tuesday, 361 soldiers from Salvador and 366 from Honduras will patrol the city of Najaf, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Baghdad, which has been the scene of the bloodiest attack since the end of the war.

"Apparently, Najaf is a quiet city because there have been no attacks on coalition forces," said Cardona. "Our main problem is that following the assassination of (Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer) al-Hakim, a series of armed militias came out to protect the holy sites."

But the general said that when his men take control of Najaf, the "only armed force that will be authorised will be the coalition on the one hand and the Iraqi police on the other."

[mdittmar]

Things must be quiet if we're sending in the second string.

[Radix]

I wonder what the networks had to say about this today.

[zarf]

Better pull this thread, the networks may find out.