BAGHDAD, Nov 11: The top US military commander in Iraq signalled on Tuesday his forces would take tougher action against insurgents, warning he would not hesitate to use any weapon at his disposal to defeat them.

Both the US-led occupying coalition and their enemies have upped the ante in recent days. Guerrillas have shot down helicopters and the US military has used aerial bombing for the first time since the official end of major combat in Iraq.

“Although the coalition can be benevolent, this is still the same lethal formation that removed the former oppressive regime (of Saddam Hussein),” Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez told a regular news briefing.

“We will not hesitate to employ the appropriate levels of combat power,” he said as a slide of a fighter jet dropping bombs was displayed behind him. US warplanes have struck targets near the towns of Tikrit and Fallujah in the past week.

US military officials in Iraq have sought to balance talk of offensive operations with reconstruction work. But with attacks against them rising, Sanchez and other commanders appear ready to toughen their rhetoric and their actions on the ground.

He said General John Abizaid, head of US Central Command, recently conveyed a similarly hard line to local leaders in Fallujah, a hotbed of anti-American violence west of Baghdad.

“The most important message is that we’re going to get pretty tough,” Sanchez said. “That’s what’s necessary to defeat this enemy and we’re definitely not shy about doing that.”

He said he had weighed the risk of alienating ordinary Iraqis with air strikes but believed most recognised the coalition had to take firm action to defeat the insurgency.

US commanders believe former members of Saddam Hussein’s regime are responsible for most of the attacks since the end of major combat on May 1 which have targeted US forces, Iraqis cooperating with them and international organisations.

Officers also say foreign Islamic militants have been involved. Sanchez said the military had detained up to 20 people they suspected were members of Al Qaeda but had not yet been able to prove they belonged to Osama bin Laden’s group.—Reuters