Samarra latest no-go zone for US troops

Over the past few months, insurgents in Samarra have deposed the US-picked leaders and put to death people suspected of collaborating with them, making the northern Iraqi city the latest no-go zone for Iraqi and American troops.

With preparations beginning for Iraq's nationwide general election, scheduled for January, the attacks in Samarra and other cities where officials cannot safely travel could present a major barrier to carrying out a credible poll.

"It's true that we can't go into Samarra very often," said US Army Capt. Scott Synowiez, an intelligence officer at a 1st Infantry Division base on the outskirts of the city. "Whenever we go into Samarra we do get attacked, without a doubt."

But evidence suggests that the United States is taking a different approach from the devastating and politically damaging military assaults in Fallujah and Najaf, which had mixed results and may have attracted more Iraqis to the insurgents' cause.

The casualty-averse US military - approaching 1,000 war dead - has little desire to expand the conflict. On Saturday, Prime Minister Eyad Allawi and a group of 11 tribal shaiks and other prominent citizens began discussing the standoff.

The following day, the Clerics Association organised a lecture in the city's great mosque that called upon insurgents to stop fighting inside the city.

Though they have battled in Samarra before, for now, US troops are staying out of the city as negotiations continue.

"We've told them 'We're not going in until you guys have control of the situation," 1st Infantry spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien said.

"There's a lot of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring to resolve this thing peacefully."