WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Thursday no deal has been reached yet on handing over Fallujah to the new Iraqi army.
He told the House Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee a deal is in the works but reports that the arrangements had been set are premature.
A Marine official told reporters in Iraq that the Marines would withdraw and a general with the new Iraqi Army would handle day-to-day security.
The Pentagon is hoping to avoid bloody house-to-house urban combat in Fallujah.
"And the goal has got to be to try to isolate the killers from the population so that if military action is necessary, it can be done with a minimum of civilian casualties," Wolfowitz said.
Despite a declared cease-fire there have been numerous battles between Marines and the insurgents involving artillery and aircraft. The battle was joined when gunmen in Fallujah killed four private security contractors in late March.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was not optimistic that more violence would be avoided but said the United States must be seen to at least try to negotiate.
"It's very important for the United States ... to be seen as trying to the extent possible to resolve this thing politically. I personally don't think ultimately it'll entirely be resolved that way," he said.
