Iraqis warned of harsher measures if attacks continue

FALLUJAH, Iraq — America’s top general in the Middle East has warned community leaders the U.S. military will use stern measures unless they curb attacks against coalition forces, an Iraqi who attended the meeting said Monday.

Gen. John Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command, delivered the warning to tribal sheiks and mayors in the "Sunni Triangle" city of Ramadi west of Baghdad, said Fallujah Mayor Taha Bedawi.

"We have the capabilities and equipment," Bedawi quoted the general as saying at Saturday’s meeting.

The warning was another sign of a "get tough" campaign against insurgents, who have accelerated attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in recent weeks. U.S. forces had eased off on raids during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began in late October.

Hours after Abizaid’s warning, U.S. jets dropped three 500-pound bombs in the Fallujah area after three paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division were wounded in an ambush. There was no report of casualties from the bombing.

The U.S. military said insurgents struck again late Sunday, firing a rocket-propelled grenade at a military police convoy near Iskandariya, 40 miles south of Baghdad, and killing a soldier from the 18th Military Police Brigade.

The soldier was the 37th American service member to die in Iraq this month. Nearly 400 have died since the beginning of operations in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

U.S. officials have blamed supporters of deposed President Saddam Hussein and foreign fighters for the violence. However, Lt. Col. Steve Russell, a battalion commander with the 4th Infantry Division, on Monday said gunmen killed or captured during recent attacks against coalition forces were Hussein loyalists and "we have yet to kill or capture a foreign fighter in Tikrit."

Tensions between U.S. forces and Iraqis in the Shiite Muslim enclave, Sadr City, rose Monday after the head of the U.S.-appointed municipal council, Muhanad al-Kaadi, was shot and killed by an American soldier guarding municipal headquarters.

The U.S. military said the shooting occurred Sunday when al-Kaadi got into an argument with a soldier guarding the council headquarters. The statement blamed the altercation on "his refusal to follow instructions of the onsite security officer who was enforcing" regulations "in accordance with the rules of engagement."