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Iraqi Army General Mohamad Jarawi, commander of the Anbar Sector command, western Iraq signs the official capitulation papers during the surrender ceremony outside Ramadi. Photo: AFP As the Iraqi commander in charge of defending Mosul told how he put down his arms reluctantlyafter most of his men had disbanded in the face of certain defeat an Iraq soldier described how "officers were ruthless, they cut off the ears of soldiers and treated us like dogs" - all for $1.65 a month . In an interview yesterday, the commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he and the 200 troops...

IN THE WESTERN IRAQI DESERT (AFP) - The commander of 16,000 Iraqi army troops who controlled the vast area along the Syrian border formally surrendered to US forces, marking another dramatic step toward the end of the Iraq war. The surrender came as the US-led coalition focuses growing attention on Syria, which Washington and London allege is hiding chemical weapons and had been cooperating extensively with the now-toppled regime of Saddam Hussein. "I am ready to help. Thank you for liberating Iraq and making it stable," said a clearly emotional General Mohammed Jarawi, after inking the formal agreement under a...