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U.S. forces control Tikrit

TIKRIT, IRAQ, APRIL 14. U.S. tanks barrelled today into central Tikrit, and American troops battled hardcore fighters defending the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein's hometown.

Meanwhile, in Baghdad, Basra and Kirkuk, coalition forces teamed up with Iraqis to bring order to the cities ravaged by looting and lawlessness. In Baghdad, Iraqis and U.S. troops began jointly patrolling the streets.

Campaign easing

In a sign of the easing air campaign, two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers will leave the war zone this week, U.S. officials told the Associated Press.

Two U.S. aircraft carriers and ships in their battle groups were ordered to return to their homeports, according to a U.S. defence official. The USS Kitty Hawk will return to its base at Yokosuka, Japan, and the USS Constellation will return to San Diego, the official said.

Their departure reflects a winding down of the air campaign, although the Pentagon is still sending more ground forces to Kuwait and Iraq.

Amid these developments, Washington stepped up its criticism of Syria, where top Iraqi leaders are believed to have fled. The British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, however, said Syria was not the next U.S.-British military target.

The U.S. forces attacked Tikrit from the south, west and north, capturing a key Tigris river bridge in the city centre and securing a presidential palace as they searched for supporters of Mr. Hussein, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said at the U.S. Central Command in Qatar. There were no defenders at the palace, he said.

South of Tikrit, the Marines were working to secure the town of Samarra, where seven American prisoners of war were rescued on Sunday and taken to Kuwait for medical treatment.

The U.S.-led forces now control all areas with Iraqi oil fields, but it will probably be weeks before crude is flowing again because explosives need to be cleared and wells repaired.

Looting abates

As the U.S. troops gained control of Tikrit by late afternoon, people began to venture out of their homes and walk in the streets, with families and children. There were no reports of looting, though most shops remained closed. Marine First Lt. Greg Starace estimated there were 3,000 U.S. troops in town. A large number of U.S. troops were seen in central Tikrit, some wearing pink blossoms on their uniforms from flowers given to them by local residents.

"It was a ghost town when we first arrived," said U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. John Kelly, commander of the Tikrit operation. "Then they (residents) start sticking their noses out and approaching us and start pointing out where Baathists are, and the Fedayeen and the caches of weapons."

"We're beginning to see a downward trend in looting," Central Command spokesman, Frank Thorp said.

Elsewhere, U.S. forces were working with local authorities to restore order to Iraq's cities after several days of lawlessness, along with power, water service and medical care. Government buildings, hospitals and schools in several cities have been damaged or gutted by looters.

``Children are dying because of the shortage of clean water. My own daughter, who is 15, is now sick because of the water,'' Ibrahim al-Sibti, a 43-year-old labourer, said in Baghdad.

``It's true they liberated us from the tyranny of Saddam but this is not enough,'' he added. ``They must give us something tangible. They must restore the services.''

Local leaders meet

In the first stirrings of Baghdad politics, religious and civil opposition leaders met in the capital today to discuss security and restoring basic services.

A ranking Shia Muslim cleric, Ayad al-Musawi, told the gathering of about 20 persons, including officials of the newly revived but still small police force, that there should be ``no Sunni, no Shia, just one Iraqi nation.''

"God willing," he said at the Palestine Hotel, "we will be one hand, one voice and not betray each other." Near the hotel, dozens protested the lack of basic services and demanded that the U.S. military leave.

In Basra, Iraqi traffic police worked alongside British troops in conducting joint neighbourhood patrols.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, American military personnel met the city's tribesmen, political and religious leaders on Sunday to discuss restoring law and order, and basic services cut off since last week.

Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, was calm, with U.S. troops controlling the airport and guarding bridges and key intersections. In the old city centre, civilians manned checkpoints armed with guns, clubs and metal pipes. A crowd in the southern city of Najaf surrounded the home of top Shia Muslim cleric for some time, demanding that he and other religious leaders leave the country.

Chalabi not to contest

According to an AFP report from Paris, the Iraqi National Congress leader, Ahmad Chalabi, the man tipped to be Iraq's next leader, said in an interview today that he would not seek political office in any future government.

"I want to participate in the rebuilding of civil society, which has been completely destroyed and corrupted,'' Chalabi told Le Monde in an interview. Asked if he intended to play a political role in post-war Iraq, he replied: "Absolutely not. I am not a candidate for any post.''

Top U.S. officials said in As Saliyah that Mr. Chalabi was not the preferred choice of ruler for the war-torn country.

Briefing media at the U.S. Central Command, they said: "Chalabi is one of the recognised leaders... we also have contacts with a number of other leaders.— AP, AFP

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