Pentagon mulling private security force for 2,000 Iraqi sites (oil) [View All]

[Nambe]

WASHINGTON, July 18 (AFP)

The Pentagon is considering a plan to train a private security force in Iraq to guard up to 2,000 sites to ease the burden on US troops, The New York Times said Friday.

The force would guard pipelines and government facilities around Iraq, providing jobs for unemployed Iraqis and easing tensions created by the US military occupation, military officials told the daily.

Pipelines are among the sites that have been targetted in almost daily attacks against US-led forces which have left at least 33 US soldiers dead since May 1, when President George W. Bush announced an end to the war.

The private force, which would be separate from the new Iraqi Army and Iraqi police force, would be composed chiefly of former Iraqi soldiers armed with small weapons, which has raised some security concerns, the officials said. ---

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