New Iraqi leader for Fallujah wanted

? The United States turned to a new commander for an Iraqi force taking control of Fallujah, considering Maj. Gen. Mohammed Latif, who opposed Saddam Hussein, to replace another general.

In Baghdad, insurgents opened fire on U.S. soldiers guarding a weapons cache, killing one soldier and wounding two, the military said. Elsewhere, a Marine was killed by enemy fire in Anbar province, the western Iraqi province where the turbulent cities of Ramadi and Fallujah are located.

The deaths brought the U.S. toll to 153 since April 1 — including 15 in May. At least 755 U.S. troops have died since the war began in March 2003.

U.S. troops battling insurgents in west Baghdad pounded rebel positions with artillery fire Monday night, the Army said.

Fallujah residents have been celebrating what many saw as a victory over U.S. forces as Marines pull back from their monthlong siege of the city and an Iraqi force — made up of former Saddam-era soldiers — moves in. U.S. officials have acknowledged they did not screen Iraqi commanders for their ties to Saddam before letting the brigade take over.

The U.S. move to have Latif lead the Fallujah Brigade came amid complaints from some Iraqis that the current commander, Maj. Gen. Jassim Mohammed Saleh, a former member of Saddam’s Republican Guard, may have been involved in past repression by the ousted regime.

Hoshyar Zibari, Iraq’s Kurdish foreign minister, said there were reports Saleh was involved in crushing the 1991 uprising by Kurds against Saddam’s rule.

Latif does “not have such problems” and at one point was imprisoned by Saddam, Zibari said.

The U.S.-picked Governing Council warned against giving military posts to ex-generals involved in the former regime’s crimes. Using officers who “participated in shedding the blood of the Iraq people … especially Republican Guards, Saddam Fedayeen militia and the remains of the dead regime is strongly condemned,” the council said.

In other developments:

  • Bulgaria sent 24 soldiers home after they complained about being unprepared for duty, citing the growing danger from the insurgency.
  • The head of the U.S.-funded Al-Sabah newspaper in Iraq quit and said he was taking almost his entire staff with him to start a new paper because of American interference in the publication. Many Iraqis have considered Al-Sabah the mouthpiece of the U.S.-led coalition.