US set to unveil civil defence force in Iraq

There are already more than 30,000 Iraqi police employed across the country, with solo Iraqi patrols increasing slowly and their presence on the streets of Baghdad steadily becoming higher in profile.

With daily attacks on US forces leading to a steady trickle of fatalities -- one more US soldier was killed in an ambush Tuesday -- the occupying army is keen to develop collaboration with Iraqis.

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"Obviously Iraqis have a better sense of their country and who people are," Major William Thurmond told AFP.

"The people going out on patrols are just Americans and they're not culturally aware, they're not sensitive to what's going on," he added.

"We need to have Iraqis out with us."

Top US army General John Abizaid mentioned the plan in an interview at the weekend, saying the force would work as a buffer while a new Iraqi army was formed -- something he said would take years.

"In the interim, we need civil defence forces that can operate with coalition forces, and eventually alone," he said in an interview with The Washington Post on Sunday.

"The Iraqis want to be in the fight. We intend to get them in the fight," he added. Abizaid took over as head of US Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq, earlier this month.