WAR ON IRAK

Rense: Arabs Fight US Troops Near Baghdad

Egyptians, Jordanians and Syrians are fighting alongside Iraqi troops against US forces moving on Baghdad, using tactics including suicide bombings which left two Marines dead, US officers said yesterday.

One officer with the 1st Marine Division told AFP US troops fought a 10-hour battle with hundreds of such fighters southeast of Baghdad on Friday.

"We were ambushed twice, and there were four suicide car bombings against tanks," the officer said.

"There were nine casualties, including two Marines killed."

The officer said contact was initially with some 150 black-clad fighters, but by the end of the battle around midnight 300 to 400 had been killed. "They kept bringing them in by the busload," he said. "It's a whole conglomerate of freedom fighters."