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BAGHDAD, June 10: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Monday warned that occupying forces in Iraq would need many more months to eliminate armed resistance from fighters loyal to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, as hostile fire wounded four more US soldiers.
The dangerous disorder still prevailing over two months after the fall of Saddam’s regime was further highlighted when three Iraqis were killed in a munitions explosion.
Speaking in Lisbon at the start of a four-day tour of Europe, Mr Rumsfeld blamed the attacks that have claimed mounting US casualties on former Iraqi forces, including the paramilitary Fedayeen-i-Saddam.
“I would say the remnants of the Iraqi regime — the Fedayeen-i-Saddam and Baathists and very likely the special Republican Guard — are still there. They are the ones that are periodically attacking coalition forces, sometimes successfully,” Mr Rumsfeld said.
“Do I think that’s going to disappear in the next month or two or three? No. Will it disappear when two or three divisions of coalition forces arrive in the country? No,” said Rumsfeld, who later headed to the Albanian capital Tirana.
“It will take time to root out the remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime and we intend to do it,” he added.
Twenty-nine US soldiers have been killed in attacks since President George W. Bush declared major combat over in Iraq on May 1, as well as other casualties in accidents.
Mr Rumsfeld, who was due to visit Germany later in the week, had said earlier that the failure to capture or account for Saddam himself may be fostering the guerilla-style attacks on US forces in Iraq.
He said the mix of US forces in Iraq is now being altered to create a more visible military presence on the ground in the face of the attacks, but denied that his visit to Europe was an effort to drum up more international troops for Iraq.
ATTACK: One day after a trick ambush attack claimed the life of one US soldier, the continuing dangers to US forces in Iraq were once again underlined when four of its troops were wounded by hostile fire in the east of the country.
The US military said that the soldiers’ units had been involved in massive search operations to identify armed resistance and hunt down the perpetrators of the attacks.
Some 370 people were detained in the search operations, 30 had turned out to be members of the deposed Baath party.
Amid fears over the flagging morale of US troops in the face of the attacks, the US army launched a glossy patriotic magazine with a circulation of 5,000 — called “Liberator” — to rally its Third Infantry Division.—AFP
