BAGHDAD, April 17: US forces have detained around 200 Iraqi paramilitary soldiers who refused to take part in a US offensive against Fallujah, their former comrades said on Friday.

The US military declined to confirm whether the men were being held. Senior officials play down the significance of such incidents but, asked about reports of mutiny among Iraqi troops, have acknowledged a "command failure" took place during the Fallujah offensive.

Soldiers from the Baghdad-based 36th Security Brigade, part of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps (ICDC), said last week US commanders took them at night to Fallujah, where US forces were massing to crush a growing resistance.

"They told us to attack the city and we were astonished. How could an Iraqi fight an Iraqi like this? This meant that nothing had changed from the Saddam Hussein days. We refused en masse," said Ali al Shamari.

US Marines began a major assault on Fallujah on April 5 after the killing and mutilation of four US private security guards in the city the previous week. Doctors say more than 600 Iraqis have died in fighting in the city since then.

Mr Shamari said the brigade members did not know they were heading to Fallujah until they arrived there.

After the brigade refused to fight, he said, soldiers were stripped of their badges and confined to tents in a US base on the outskirts of Fallujah. Their rations were restricted to one meal per day.

"I escaped, but around 200 of our comrades remain there. We demand their release," Mr Shamari said.-Reuters