BAGHDAD-CAIRO, July 12: Tribal leaders in the western Iraqi city of Fallujah called for all-out resistance against US troops, the Arabic television station al-Jazeera reported Saturday.

At the same time the tribal elders called on the citizens of the city to help the new Iraqi police force restore security and order.

Al-Jazeera reported earlier that US troops, who have been attacked numerous times in Fallujah, complied with a local police request that they withdraw to bases outside the city.

A US soldier was wounded Saturday in a rocket-propelled grenade attack at Abu Ghreib prison, west of Baghdad, a US military spokesman said in Baghdad.

The prison, which under the rule of Saddam Hussein was the biggest in the land, has been empty since an amnesty last October. After the fall of the regime in April, US forces adapted the building to hold suspected criminals and resistance members.

Meanwhile, US officials were reported to be on the verge of forming a council to govern Iraq, US newspapers reported Saturday.

According to The Washington Post and The New York Times, the council would comprise 25 Iraqis with wide-ranging powers, including powers to approve budgets and appoint ministers.

Negotiations on who exactly would sit on the council were still under way, the officials said.

CAIRO BACKING SOUGHT: The US is seeking the backing of its ally Egypt for Iraq’s new provisional governing council in order to win the support of other Arab states, the pan-Arab Al-Hayat daily said on Saturday.