U.S. taking fight to Iraq rebels

BAGHDAD — In an effort to take the fight to the guerrillas who are attacking the United States and its allies, U.S. commanders in Iraq are shifting to a new, more mobile rapid reaction force that will be tailored for small-scale urban warfare.

Underscoring the need for more aggressive tactics, gunmen Saturday ambushed a team of Spanish military intelligence officers 18 miles south of Baghdad. Seven officers were killed and one was wounded, said Spain's defense minister, Federico Trillo.

In another sign that the guerrillas are trying to demoralize America's allies in Iraq, Japanese officials this morning in Tokyo said they were checking unconfirmed reports that two men believed to be Japanese diplomats were killed in an ambush Saturday afternoon near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown 110 miles north of the Iraqi capital.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. military official in Iraq, said Saturday that a new, lighter U.S. force will spearhead a new phase in the war, called Iraqi Freedom II. The new phase will begin early next year, when existing troops are relieved by the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas, and the 1st Infantry Division from Germany, along with about 3,000 Marines.

"What we're in search of is a very mobile, very flexible, yet lethal force that can accomplish its mission," Sanchez said. "Those capabilities are defined by the enemy."

The attacks on the Spaniards and the Japanese, both among America's staunchest allies in Iraq, were the latest blows to the U.S.-led coalition, which has seen 77 American soldiers die in November, more than in any other month since the U.S.-led invasion began on March 20. A total of 73 U.S. soldiers died in September and October combined.

The Spanish intelligence officers were attacked in their four-wheel-drive vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles in the town of Mahmudiyah, Trillo said.

According to footage shot by Britain's Sky News, a group of young men kicked the Spaniards' bodies and chanted:

"We sacrifice our souls and blood for you, oh Saddam."

Spain is a strong supporter of the U.S.-led coalition and has sent 1,300 troops to Iraq. A Spanish diplomat was assassinated near his home in Baghdad last month, and 10 Spanish soldiers have been killed since the March invasion.

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, through a spokesman, said Spain would keep its troops in Iraq.