US military lowers profile in Iraq

US military fatalities in Iraq have dropped from a peak of 135 in April to less than 50 so far this month, with a total of more than 850 killed and 5,000 wounded in action so far during the war.

The early handover of authority caught most US military officials in Mosul by surprise, leading them to implement a shift in tactics sooner than planned.

Late Sunday night, for example, US forces in Mosul and surrounding Nineveh Province conducted a series of aggressive sweeps, detaining more than a dozen men in a drive aimed at "clearing out" as many suspected terrorists and insurgents as possible before the handover.

Down a dim, narrow street in eastern Mosul, strewn with litter and sewage, US troops acting alone broke into the home of a suspected bombmaker. Grilling the man, who was dressed in a white caftan, they gained little information, and a search of his home turned up no weapons or bomb materials. Still, they decided to detain him for further interrogation.

"Your father is a terrorist and he's coming with us," one soldier told female relatives as the man was led away, his hands bound with plastic flexicuffs.

As of Monday, however, US officers were meeting to scale back, limiting offensive operations to focus on key terrorists and their associates, as well as individuals known with high certainty to be involved in attacks on US forces. Other remaining targets would be handed over to Iraqi forces, they said.

Meanwhile, beginning Monday, US forces here said they plan to conduct most if not all offensive operations jointly with Iraqi forces. In a predawn raid on Mosul's rural outskirts Tuesday, it was a platoon of the new Iraqi National Guard (ING) that went to the door, supported by US troops.

"We can handle these problems," says 1st Lt. Momtaz Mahfoz as he rifled through belongings in the home of the suspected terrorist cell member. "We know everything about raids," said the burly former Iraqi Army soldier, recently trained for six weeks by US Special Forces to lead an ING platoon. But, he added, "we still need the Americans as backup."

Outside, ING soldiers without body armor and wearing mismatched uniforms - one wore a cap, the next a black face mask, and the third an olive helmet with fake leaves - pulled security. "I think we can do things ourselves, but we need more equipment," said Sgt. Ahmed Azaldeen.

Indeed, Sergeant Azaldeen's company of 180 men has only three vehicles and lacks uniforms, body armor, helmets, and communications equipment, says Capt. Eric Olson, whose Stryker company is paired with the ING unit. "They're a motley crew, but they're motivated," he says.

Colonel Rounds says he intends to dramatically consolidate US forces, reducing their bases from nearly 30 in the region when they arrived to three by the time they depart this fall. Still, US officers say they remain ready to back up Iraqis at any time.

"We're here," says Maj. Chuck Hodges, operations officer for the Stryker brigade. "Just break the glass and call 911."

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