Most Fallujah insurgents are Iraqis: US (AFP) [View All]

[gottaB]

The vast majority of the insurgents in Iraq are local and not foreign fighters," said Captain Ben Connable, the intelligence deputy for the US 1st Marine Division, in charge of the western al-Anbar province.

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The Zarqawi network often recruits the disaffected unemployed youths in Anbar with the promise of jihad (holy war).

"What they try to do is get local and disaffected youth and pound their heads with jihad. They are roving the street (looking) for your classic 16- to 24-year-old," the intelligence officer said.

"They themselves rarely get shot or killed. They take these kids and run them out into firefights. It's a cynical approach," said Colonel Buck Connor of the US Army's 1st Infantry Division, in charge of the Anbar town of Ramadi.

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"The Americans are deluding themselves if they think they can subdue Iraqis by force or through bribery. When an Iraqi is humiliated, he rebels," said Mohammad Hamadani, a Sunni nationalist from Fallujah.

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Most Fallujah insurgents are Iraqis...