BAGHDAD â The US Army has detained a senior Baath Party leader in Saddam Husseinâs native stronghold of Tikrit in connection with the spate of guerrilla attacks on US troops in central Iraq, Central Command said yesterday. âA Fourth Infantry Division task force captured a senior Baath Party official from Tikrit and are questioning him regarding recent attacks,â it said in a statement without elaborating. One US soldier was killed in an ambush on a major supply route north of the capital Thursday, two were killed in a raid in the western town of Fallujah on Tuesday, and another was killed in a bomb attack in Baghdad on Monday. The commander of coalition ground forces, Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, on Thursday blamed âregime holdoutsâ for the attacks which he said had turned western Iraq into a âcombat zoneâ.
| Sweep it and hit them hard enough, and you won't have to do it again. Be gentle with them, and they'll be popping up all over the place. |
The attacks have prompted US commanders in Iraq to consider not sending troops home until reinforcements arrive, a top Marine general said yesterday. Lt. Gen. James Conway, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq, said, however, that the estimated 40,000 Marines in Iraq and Kuwait will have to come back soon to keep up with other scheduled deployments.
| I wonder if he said that in Persian? |
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