BAGHDAD, Dec 1: Guerillas launched a brief assault west of Baghdad on Thursday, firing mortar rounds and rockets at a US base and local government buildings, the day after Washington unveiled its new strategy for ‘victory in Iraq’. Residents said heavily armed men wearing masks attacked a US garrison in the centre of Ramadi and fired on nearby council offices before seizing several streets.

Leaflets were distributed saying that Al Qaeda in Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was taking control and promising that ‘Iraq will be a graveyard for the Americans and their allies’. But after a couple of hours most of the militants dispersed and the city returned to relative calm.

The US military, which together with Iraqi forces launched a new operation in the area round Ramadi on Wednesday, played down the assault.

“Reports of insurgents taking control of Ramadi are completely unsubstantiated,” Marines Captain Patrick Kerr said in an emailed statement. “There have been a few sporadic small-arms engagements, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, is a base of the Sunni-led resistance to occupation forces. After US forces crushed Fallujah in an offensive in November last year, many guerillas moved west to Ramadi and other Euphrates river towns.

The assault in Ramadi came only hours after US President George Bush unveiled details of his strategy in Iraq, saying his plan for victory involved intensified training of Iraqi security forces so that they can fight guerillas on their own and US troops can go home.

That has been the plan for the past year, but under intense pressure at home to justify the invasion, Mr Bush fleshed out the White House’s thinking, while also reiterating that he would set no timetable for withdrawal.

“I will settle for nothing less than complete victory,” Mr Bush said in a speech that drew a terse response from Democrats, some of whom are pushing for a quick withdrawal.

Washington has about 155,000 troops in Iraq, increased from 135,000 over recent months to improve security before the polls.—Reuters