Iraqi general comments on handover

(30 Apr 2004)

1. Humvees on road littered with debris
2. Wide shot same
3. US soldier
4. Iraqi Major General Jassim Mohammed Saleh talking to interpreter
5. General with John Torn, Commanding officer of the RCT1
6. Various Major General Jassim Mohammed Saleh talking to interpreter
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Iraqi Major General Jassim Mohammed Saleh:
"They are pulling out at four p-m and the Iraqi army will take over. The Iraqi army is accepted by the Iraqi people, not only by the locals of Fallujah, but by all the Iraqi people. We are bringing peace to the Iraqi people.''
8. Torn talking to Mohammad
9. SOUNDBITE (English)Colonel John Torn, Commanding officer of the RCT 1(Regimental Combat Team 1) Task Force, 1st US Marine Division:
"This is a great opportunity for us to work together and support the Iraqi army and the Iraqi people (pause for translation) to take care of their own security and bring peace to Fallujah."
10. Humvees on highway

STORYLINE:

A senior defence official in Washington said on Friday that a deal had been reached by US commanders inside Iraq to install a veteran of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard as the leader of the brigade being trained to patrol the beseiged city of Fallujah.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told the Associated Press that Iraqi Major General Jassim Mohammed Saleh would lead the force.

However, the US military's top general in the region, General John Abizaid, has refused to confirm Saleh's leadership or provide any details.

Abizaid said on Friday that the US military is in a "step by step effort" to train an Iraqi force to patrol Fallujah.

However Major General Jassim Mohammed Saleh said Coalition forces would be pulling out by four p.m. on Friday "and the Iraqi army will take over".

The senior defence official told the AP that a newly formed Fallujah Brigade will consist of former Iraqi officers and enlisted soldiers in the Fallujah area who volunteer and are vetted by US authorities.

The official contended that no representative of the insurgents who are holed up inside the city was part of the agreement.

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