A photograph dated November 4, 2004 shows an English translation of the Arabic leaflet, printed by the British Army, being handed out to the local people by the Black Watch battle-group as part of their 'hearts and minds' campaign during their stay at Camp Dogwood, 20 miles southwest of Baghdad. REUTERS/Maurice McDonald/Pool
Three British Soldiers Killed in Attack
By ED JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
LONDON - Three British soldiers in the Black Watch regiment, the forces moved closer to the Iraqi capital to back up American troops, have been killed in an attack, the government said Thursday.
Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram told the House of Commons that the soldiers were part of an 850-strong unit recently redeployed from southern Iraq to the U.S.-controlled zone near Baghdad.
The British soldiers were redeployed last week to allow U.S. Marines to reposition in Anbar province, home of guerrilla strongholds of Fallujah, Ramadi, Hit and Husaybah.
The move from the relatively peaceful sector to the U.S.-controlled zone, where troops come under daily attack from insurgents, carries the risk of higher casualties and is politically sensitive for Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The three deaths bring the number of British troops killed in Iraq to 73.
Ingram told the Commons it was difficult to "establish a clear picture of events and precise details of what has happened." He did not disclose when or precisely where the attack occurred.
"I very much regret that I can confirm to the House that in an attack on British forces in the Black Watch area of operations we have suffered a number of casualties including three fatalities," the minister said.
"U.S. forces helped to provide urgent medical support at the scene of the incident, something for which I know our forces are grateful," he dded.
Iraq Setting Up Fallujah Administration By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer
NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - The Iraqi government is setting up a shadow administration to run Fallujah if a combined force of U.S. Marines and Army soldiers is ordered to assault the insurgent stronghold, the military said Thursday.
Should the attack succeed, Iraqi troops will be the primary force keeping order inside the city and Iraqi administrators will be put in control "as soon as it's safe," said Maj. Jim West, a Marine intelligence planner.
"The Iraqi interim government is establishing a government to take over Fallujah, it's an Iraqi government," he told reporters at a U.S. base outside Fallujah.
The military has $75 million in reconstruction funds available for the city, said Navy Cmdr. Steven Stefani.
He said a psychological operations campaign is already under way, with an AM radio station broadcasting messages about the intent of U.S. forces and instructions to residents of Fallujah.
"We're trying to tell them they have friends out there who care about them, who may have to attack and here's what we want them to do," West said. "It's not to take over the city; it's to return the city to you."
Despite the preparations for a military offensive, the Iraqi government has not given up on negotiations and is speaking with insurgent representatives who include a powerful sheik in the city, Abdullah al-Janabi, who is believed to lead local fighters.
"He's working with the Iraqi government right now and we're following the instructions of the Iraqi government," West said.
U.S. commanders have stressed the go-ahead for an attack must come from Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
If an attack is ordered, West said the U.S. force led by Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of the 1st Marine Division, could face as many as 5,000 fighters dug in behind defensive works and booby traps. They likely will be fighting as individual bands of 10 to 20 men, both foreign and Iraqi, he added.
He said soldiers and Marines would first isolate Fallujah to prevent insurgents from entering or leaving, while perhaps directing fleeing civilians to refugee camps.
"You cut off roads, you cut off access points for vehicles that can carry explosives," he said.
For now, the city is still open, with civilians — and perhaps insurgents — being allowed to come and go, West said.
Residents have been fleeing for weeks. If there is a larger outflow triggered by fighting, West said the military was getting ready to care for them. "We're not going to let the elderly and the infirm wander around the desert," he said.
West said U.S. planners expected attacking troops to encounter "greater concentrations" of the same guerrilla weapons and tactics seen across Iraq, especially hidden bombs and explosives-packed cars, perhaps detonated after luring U.S. forces into bottlenecks in the city.
Allied guerrillas operating outside Fallujah also may try to attack U.S. bases or troops in the rear as well as widen the rebellion beyond the rebel hot bed, he said.
Marines have been training for months for the assault, guided by their experiences from the aborted three-week siege of Fallujah in April, West said.
Assault forces could face a tough fight in the narrow lanes of the densely packed inner city, where intelligence information about rebel defenses has been more difficult to obtain and where U.S. high-tech weapons are less effective.
Troops will be wary of attempts to lure them into "a soft spot and have it rigged" with remotely triggered bombs, West said.
"These are typical insurgent tactics and we're prepared for that," he said. "I don't think it will slow up our forces. We've built in a lot of countermeasures."
West suggested Iraqi insurgents might be willing to give up fighting before die-hard foreign guerrillas in the city "who are coming to fight and die."