US troops focus on al Qaeda in Iraq's Ramadi

BAGHDAD, June 1 (Reuters) Al Qaeda militants have gained ground in Ramadi and the 1,500 extra U.S. troops brought to Iraq to help fight them will be used to try to break their grip on the town, the US military said today.

''We are very concerned about Ramadi. The situation in Ramadi is very serious,'' chief US military spokesman Major General William Caldwell told a news conference.

The US military has not suggested publicly that a big offensive is expected in Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad. But US military officials appear to be focusing more on the town, capital of Anbar province, the insurgent heartland in western Iraq.

Two extra battalions have moved to Iraq from Kuwait to step up the fight against al Qaeda militants and insurgents in Anbar.

''Al Qaeda militants have increased their presence. The extra troops have been brought in to facilitate the movement of other troops and deal with al Qaeda,'' said military spokesman Colonel Nelson McCouch.

He said the troops would be based in Ramadi, which has emerged as the biggest hotspot in Iraq after a major US military offensive crushed al Qaeda militants and insurgents in 2004 in nearby Falluja, a former rebel bastion.

Asked if the situation in Ramadi was similar to that in Falluja before the assault, when residents said al Qaeda militants ruled the streets, McCouch said: ''They are different. We have a presence and positions in Ramadi. In Falluja, we were trying to establish positions.'' VULNERABLE TO INSURGENTS US commanders, the White House and the Iraqi government have spoken of hopes that some American troops will go home this year but say that will happen only when Iraqi forces are ready.

Caldwell said the performance of Iraqi forces had improved and they conducted 40 percent of the 389 military operations last week on their own.

But Anbar remains the area most vulnerable to insurgent forces. Ramadi residents say they have noticed increased US and Iraqi checkpoint and patrol activity in the city.

Al Qaeda-allied militants, led among others by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and nationalists loyal to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party have found refuge in the desert wastes of Anbar since the US invasion three years ago.

They often conduct bold operations in Ramadi, frequently attacking the building housing the governorate.

US Marines have launched a series of offensives against rebel strongholds, notably in towns along the Euphrates River from the Syrian border to Falluja.

US commanders' hopes have been raised over the past year by signs of growing disillusionment among the local Sunni Arab population with the rebels, especially with Islamists who have bloodily imposed Taliban-style rule on some towns at times.

Local people also voted in substantial numbers for the first time in December's parliamentary election and Sunni leaders are in the national unity government formed last week.

But the insurgents remain strong in places, despite repeated raids by some 20,000 Marines stretched across the region.

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