US eager to hand power to Iraqis

UNDER the pressure of rising American casualties, President George Bush said yesterday the United States wants Iraqis to take more responsibility for governing their troubled country.

As he spoke, a steady drumbeat of explosions was heard in the Iraqi capital last night, part of an American operation, codenamed Iron Hammer, to suppress insurgent activity in the city.

Bush said he was sending Paul Bremer, the top American administrator in Baghdad, back to the country to work with Iraqis on developing a plan to speed up establishment of an Iraqi government.