Loyalty divided within Iraqi police-U.S. military

BAGHDAD, July 15 (Reuters) Some Iraqi police units are still divided along sectarian lines and it will require commitment from the central government to stamp this out, a senior US military spokesman said today.

"There is a certain element of the Iraqi security forces and in particular the Iraqi police ... that have had shortfalls in terms of loyalty ... to the central government," Rear Admiral Mark Fox, the top military spokesman in Iraq, told a news conference.

Many Americans want their troops to come home and have little confidence in the Iraqi government's ability to stem sectarian bloodshed pushing the country towards civil war.

US commanders say some units are infiltrated by Shi'ite militia, and accounts among ordinary Iraqis of men in police uniforms being involved in sectarian violence are common.

Fox said it would not be easy to win back the trust of Iraqis who regard their police with suspicion.

"It takes time and it takes patience, and I also think it takes commitment on behalf of the Iraqi government," he said.

US and Iraqi forces have launched a major clampdown in and around Baghdad to drive out militants blamed for deadly bomb attacks that have fanned sectarian hatred. But US commanders warn that Iraqi forces are not ready to handle security alone.

"There are some well-trained, well equipped and well-led units in the Iraqi security force. But there are also units that still need to improve," said Fox.

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