U.S troops are handing Iraqi officials responsibility for policing the restive city of Fallujah, where American forces have come under increasing attack, the US Army announced Saturday.
Also Saturday, the military reported that a soldier of the 4th Infantry Division died and a second was wounded in "a non-hostile gunshot incident."
In Fallujah, Iraqi police and the U.S.-appointed mayor requested the transfer, saying it would help reduce the anti-American attacks in the city.
The U.S.-led administration announced in a statement that troops began on Friday a "transition of responsibility with the Fallujah Police Department," which had asked for more power "in patrolling and securing the town."
Fallujah's mayor, Taha Bedewi, and the police said Friday that U.S. soldiers had left the mayor's office and the city's main police station, where the Americans had been posted since they seized the city in April.
Meanwhile, Iraq's U.S.-led provisional government is in "the final stages" of setting up a governing council that will be the first national Iraqi political body since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, but no date has been set for establishing the council, a senior Western diplomat told The Associated Press.
Several international media outlets had reported the council would be named this weekend, and U.S. officials said Iraq's American administrator, L. Paul Bremer, would hold a news conference Saturday where he was expected to announce the makeup of the council. The meeting with reporters, however, was canceled early Saturday and no reason was given.
"We are in the final stages of getting the Governance Council together," said the diplomat. There is "no definite date. It will take as long as it takes."
The council will consist of 25-30 prominent Iraqis. It will have the power to name ministers and select an independent central bank governor, and will be consulted by Iraq's American leaders on all important issues. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
