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There 'were' bad guys in that house In this photo released by the U.S. Marines Thursday, Dec. 16TH, 2004, an M1A1 Abrams tank with the 2nd Tank Battalion fires into a building from which Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division were fired upon, during a firefight Friday Dec. 10TH, 2004 in the city of Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo/USMC, LCpl James J. Vooris ) In this photo released Thursday, Dec. 16TH, 2004 by the U.S. Marines, soldiers with the Iraqi Armed Forces and Marines from 3rd Platoon, I Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine...

An Iraqi girl stands in front of US marines who arrived to visit civilians living at a cement factory at the egde of Fallujah. US marines say the mostly foreign rebels still in the flashpoint Iraq (news - web sites) city are proving harder to fight than expected British troops patrol a street in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was among more than 5,000 hopefuls to register for landmark elections by the deadline.(AFP/Essam al-Sudani) A column of smokes billows as a US Humvee drives at sunset in the restive city of Fallujah, west...

Muslim Nations Want Fewer Coalition Troops Friday July 30, 2004 11:31 PM By BARRY SCHWEID WASHINGTON (AP) - Muslim countries being sounded out by Saudi Arabia about sending troops to Iraq want a sizable reduction in U.S. and other coalition troops as part of any agreement. As troops drawn from Muslim countries, most or all from outside the Middle East, took up positions in Iraq, there would be a parallel exodus of coalition soldiers, a senior Saudi official said Friday. The Muslim force would serve in the name of the United Nations and would supplement U.S. and other coalition troops...

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Australia plans to boost its military contingent in Iraq, increasing the number of troops and vehicles that provide security to diplomats and personnel who are training the new Iraqi army. Tuesday's announcement comes at a time when governments involved in U.S.-led coalition helping to rebuild Iraq are under pressure to pull out their troops, and on the day the Philippines was pondering a withdrawal to save the life of a Filipino hostage held by a terrorist group in Iraq. Defense Minister Robert Hill announced that Australia's security detachment in Iraq -- part of a contingent...

Baathists, Islamic radicals, and foreign fighters in Iraq have adjusted their sights in their efforts to torpedo the establishment of a democratic government in that country, a senior U.S. military officer said here today. Since terrorists in Iraq have had scant success against U.S. and coalition troops, they're now focusing attacks on newly trained Iraqi security forces and other targets, U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid told Senate Armed Services Committee members. There are now, he said, about 200,000 Iraqi security forces. Abizaid is commander of U.S. Central Command. In addition to attacks on Iraqi police stations, the March 2 bombings...