Falluja Mortar Attack Kills 12

Reuters reports that 12 Iraqi members of the Falluja Brigade were killed in a mortar attack:

Rebels killed 12 members of an Iraqi security force in a mortar attack in the flashpoint town of Falluja Wednesday, the force said.

It was the first time guerrillas have attacked General Mohammed Latif's Falluja Brigade since it set out to pacify Iraq's most rebellious town west of Baghdad last month following fierce fighting between U.S. troops and insurgents.

[. . .]

U.S. troops launched an offensive on the town after four U.S. contractors were killed by guerrillas and then mutilated and dragged through the streets by residents on March 31.

After weeks of fierce fighting between the Americans and guerrillas which killed hundreds of Iraqis and scores of U.S. troops, the U.S. military struck a deal with Latif, a former general in Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s army.

Set up under a peace agreement to end the clashes, the 2,000-strong Falluja Brigade is composed mainly of Baathists who served in Saddam's army, which was disbanded by U.S. forces.

This makes one wonder whether Lewis E. Lehrman, William Kristol and Victor Davis Hansen got it right.