Not only were they not rebels, but they were members of Saddam's personal army.
This may be a simple writing error, or it may be a subliminal nod to the latest leftist meme project: that Iraqis miss Saddam and wish he was still in power.
Stories detailing the millions of atrocities of Saddam and his minions are not carried, because doing so might inadvertently "legitimize" the U.S.-led war. Clearly, very few members of the commercial media want to do that.
That, and of course the related meme: that the War in Iraq has made terrorism worse and put America at greater risk of terrorist attack.
Except that international terrorism is down.