US trains Iraqis to take on security duty

THE US Army began training an Iraqi militia force yesterday to take on civil defence duties and pave the way for US forces to leave Iraq.

Fifty young men hand-picked by tribal leaders started three weeks of intensive training at one of Saddam Hussein's main palaces in the northern town of Tikrit, which is now headquarters for the 4th Infantry Division.

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell said similar training programmes were expected to begin in other cities across Iraq shortly.