IRAQ

Rense: US Troops Shocked By Move To Keep Them In Iraq

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) -- Under fire and unwanted by Iraqis, soldiers in the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division in the volatile town of Falluja were bitterly disappointed on Tuesday by a decision to keep them in Iraq indefinitely.

"It's a big shock," said Sergeant Josh Holt of Montgomery, Alabama.

Facing mounting threats in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday thousands of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanised) would stay in the country despite previous plans to bring them home in July and August.

The division was the first American unit to enter Baghdad during the war and has been in the Gulf since September. Thirty- seven soldiers from the division have been killed in the war and its aftermath.