FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) – As U.S. forces pull out of Iraq, residents and officials in Falluja say they leave behind bullet-riddled homes, destroyed infrastructure and a worrying increase in birth defects and maladies in a city polluted by weapons and war chemicals.

Amir Hussain and Awfa Abdullah got married in Falluja in 2004 but their lives were turned upside by the birth of their two babies.

Their first child, a baby boy born in 2006, had brain damage and died last year. The second, a baby girl who was born in 2007, suffers from severe skin rashes and has one leg longer than the other.

“We’ve decided to stop having babies. We don’t want any more, because it means new suffering and a new battle against new diseases,” Hussain said. “It is our bad luck. Maybe because we got married in the wrong time and in the wrong place.”

Falluja, in the desert province of Anbar, served as a base for Iraqi fighters after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and witnessed two major conflicts in 2004. U.S. troops used overwhelming force, tanks, fighter jets and helicopter gunships to crush insurgents there.

Falluja’s residents await the U.S. withdrawal by year-end with a mixture of relief and fear that al Qaeda militants might return. Some are still seeking compensation for the suffering they endured.

At Falluja Hospital, pediatrician Samira al-Ani said the most insidious legacy of the war is seen every day in a startling increase in deformed newborns since 2005.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Moves by some of Iraq’s mainly Sunni Muslim provinces toward increased autonomy threaten to heighten sectarian tensions and put pressure on Iraq’s already frail central government as U.S. troops depart at the end of the year.

Just weeks before the last American troops leave, growing appeals for local control mark disenchantment with the Shi’ite Muslim-led government and could widen rifts between the country’s Sunni and Shi’ite communities.

Desire for provincial power has simmered for years in Iraq, a maelstrom of ethnic, sectarian and tribal conflict. In Basra province, some residents fed up with lagging development want more control of their oilfields, among the world’s largest.

But a recent declaration of autonomy by Salahuddin province, where former Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein’s hometown is located, has sharpened the debate.

“The Salahuddin declaration, and what happened after that, proves sectarian conflict still exists and is strong in Iraq’s political scene,” said Yahya Kubaisi, an analyst at Iraq’s Institute for Strategic Studies.

Salahuddin’s bid was partly an angry reaction to a central government arrest campaign that snared more than 600 people authorities said were former military officers and members of Saddam’s banned Baath party. Baghdad said there was a Baathist plot to seize power once U.S. troops depart.

Iraq is slowly getting back on its feet after decades of war. Sectarian fighting peaked in 2006-7, but Iraqi forces continue to battle a Sunni insurgency and Shi’ite militias.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Sitting in a barber shop in Baghdad’s Shi’ite Sadr City slum, three friends agreed after a long and hard argument that U.S. forces brought democracy to Iraq.

But they found it difficult to utter the words without raging about the flip side of what they saw as the U.S. occupation of their country.

“OK, we have democracy. We can talk freely with no fear. We can demonstrate and vote freely. All these are available, and all were not before 2003,” said student Hussain Ali, 20, as he waited for his haircut.

“But why don’t you ask us about the other side of the story of the U.S. presence in Iraq? Why don’t you ask about their crimes, atrocities, the pain and anguish that we suffered because of their military presence here?” Ali said, his face turning red with anger.

On April 9, 2003, U.S. forces toppled a statue of dictator Saddam Hussein in central Baghdad, marking the end of more than 35 years of iron-fisted rule by Saddam’s Baath Party.

Then-U.S. President George W. Bush said Iraq could become a model of democracy in the Middle East.

But Iraqis who applauded the event and dreamed of a better future were disappointed as their nation descended into vicious sectarian warfare in which tens of thousands died. Recalling those years, many talk about the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, and what they call the U.S. misuse of power.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A man identified as Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam Hussein’s former deputy, criticised a recent arrest campaign against Baathists and denied they had plotted against the Iraqi government.

Syria-based Arrai television aired on Thursday an audio tape of a man it identified as Douri, the head of Saddam’s banned Baath Party and the highest-ranking member of Saddam’s regime still at large. There was no independent confirmation of the speaker’s identity.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government launched an arrest campaign last month against Baathists and former military officers who allegedly plotted to oust the government when U.S. troops depart by year-end.

Maliki said more than 600 people had been arrested on evidence that they sought to undermine security in Iraq.

“The claim of the government that Baathists have a conspiracy, or would attempt a coup, is a lie,” the man identified as Douri said. “It is a part of their de-Baathification project.”

Baathists were banned from participating in politics after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam after 24 years in power.

The man said the government had arrested more than 900 people, targeting those on a list of thousands of names that originated with Iran’s Quds force, the covert operations arm of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Anti-U.S. Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said Thursday he would resist any American presence in Iraq, including a civilian one, beyond year-end when all U.S. forces depart nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia once battled U.S. and Iraqi troops, has opposed any U.S. military footprint and his bloc is a key part of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s fragile coalition.

“We do not accept any kind of U.S. presence in Iraq, whether it is military or not,” Sadr said in an interview aired on al-Arabiya television.

“If they stay in Iraq, through a military or non-military (presence) … we will consider them an occupation and we will resist them whatever the price will be. Even a civilian presence, we reject it,” the cleric said.

United States President Barack Obama said on October 21 all remaining U.S. troops, currently around 33,000, would be withdrawn from Iraq by December 31 after Washington and Baghdad failed to agree on immunity for American soldiers.

But a huge U.S. embassy will be maintained in Baghdad along with consular operations in Arbil in the northern Kurdish zone and in the southern oil city Basra.

Thousands of private contractors will also work as guards and trainers for Iraqi troops using U.S. hardware such as tanks and F-16 fighters.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Any buildup of U.S. forces in the Gulf after their withdrawal from Iraq would be imprudent, Iran’s foreign minister said on Monday, urging all nations to tread cautiously in a troubled region.

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi made the comments in Baghdad days after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Iran not to try to exploit the U.S. withdrawal at the year-end.

“Now, about the U.S. planning to build up their forces in the region … they are not following a rational and prudent approach,” Salehi told a joint news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari.

“The Americans always have a deficit, unfortunately, in rationality and prudence. So what I expect is that it’s about time for the Americans to be … more prudent and wise in their approach,” he said.

Washington is planning to bolster its military presence in the Gulf after it pulls out of Iraq, including negotiating to maintain a combat presence in Kuwait, and is considering deploying more warships in the area, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Salehi said the region was entering a troubled period. “The consequences of these developments are not yet known to anybody, so one has to be cautious. Everybody has to be cautious, including the U.S.,” he said.

Iraq and the United States failed after months of talks to agree on keeping U.S. troops in Iraq past the end of this year.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq will continue talks with Washington on how U.S. trainers can work with Iraqi forces after a complete withdrawal of American troops at the end of the year, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Friday that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq as scheduled by the end of this year after the two governments failed to reach an agreement over giving American soldiers legal immunity.

“Now that we have put this behind us, this will let us settle the issue of training,” Maliki said. “Iraqis will ask to resume talks over the number of trainers, the duration (of their stay in Iraq) and how those trainers will be used.”

More than eight years after the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, violence has fallen since the sectarian slaughter of 2006-2007. But Iraq still faces a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency tied to al Qaeda and rival Shi’ite militias.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say the local armed forces can contain violence but they need trainers to help build up air defense, maritime capabilities, intelligence gathering and moving the military to conventional warfare tactics.

Iraq will get some military training from a U.S. embassy programme and from contractors who are part of a package with the U.S.-made military hardware Baghdad is purchasing, such as F-16 fighter jets and tanks.

Military advisers working at the embassy are covered by diplomatic immunity afforded to the State Department.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq will continue talks with Washington on how U.S. trainers can work with Iraqi forces after a complete withdrawal of American troops at the end of the year, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Friday that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq as scheduled by the end of this year after the two governments failed to reach an agreement over giving American soldiers legal immunity.

“Now that we have put this behind us, this will let us settle the issue of training,” Maliki said. “Iraqis will ask to resume talks over the number of trainers, the duration (of their stay in Iraq) and how those trainers will be used.”

More than eight years after the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, violence has fallen since the sectarian slaughter of 2006-2007. But Iraq still faces a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency tied to al Qaeda and rival Shi’ite militias.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say the local armed forces can contain violence but they need trainers to help build up air defense, maritime capabilities, intelligence gathering and moving the military to conventional warfare tactics.

Iraq will get some military training from a U.S. embassy program and from contractors who are part of a package with the U.S.-made military hardware Baghdad is purchasing, such as F-16 fighter jets and tanks.

Military advisers working at the embassy are covered by diplomatic immunity afforded to the State Department.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqis fretted about the ability of their armed forces to protect them from violence after U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday all U.S. troops would withdraw by the end of the year.

Washington and Baghdad failed to agree on the issue of immunity for U.S. forces after months of talks over whether American soldiers would stay on as trainers more than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Obama’s announcement prompted worries among Iraqis over the stability of their country and a possible slide back into sectarian violence.

“I would be very happy with this withdrawal if our military and security forces are ready to fill the gap of the American forces. But I don’t believe they are. We can’t deceive ourselves,” said Baghdad shoe shop owner Ziyad Jabari.

“Our forces are still not capable of facing our security challenges. I’m afraid this withdrawal will allow al Qaeda and the militias to return.”

A stubborn Sunni insurgency tied to al Qaeda and Shi’ite militia still carry out lethal attacks in Iraq, where bombings and killings happen daily even though violence has dropped from the height of sectarian fighting in 2006-2007.

At least 70 people were killed last week as a series of attacks rocked the capital Baghdad.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned of regional fallout should protests in neighboring Syria escalate into sectarian violence or force a change in government along sectarian lines.

His statements underscore fears among Iraqi Shi’ite leaders and their allies in Iran that Syrian unrest could spill over into Iraq or unseat President Bashar al-Assad and bring to power a hardline Sunni Muslim regime next door.

The United Nations says 2,700 people have been killed in Syria’s crackdown on six months of mainly peaceful protests, making it one of the bloodiest in a wave of revolts that has toppled three Arab leaders this year.

Assad belongs to the minority Alawite sect, a distant offshoot of Shi’ite Islam. Baghdad’s relations with Damascus and Tehran have strengthened since the fall of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein after the 2003 U.S. invasion.

“For a pivotal state like Syria, surrounded by challenges and crises, if the internal situation gets shaken and turns into sectarian war or even a change occurs along sectarian lines, the whole region will be a mess,” Maliki told al-Manar television station in an interview broadcast on Friday.

Iraq has tried to tread a fine line between urging reforms to ease protests and supporting a neighbor whose future could shift the balance of power in Iraq and the region.

Maliki, a Shi’ite whose government shares power with Sunni and Kurdish blocs, has taken a more muted response compared to other Arab leaders, who have hit out at Assad and even withdrawn envoys from Syria in protest.