Coalition forces in Iraq are prepared to give "a little more time" to talks inside Fallujah, in spite of continuing cease-fire violations there, a U.S. Army general says.

Briefing in Baghdad April 28, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said "it does seem somewhat paradoxical ... [to] have a truce and military operations happening simultaneously," but that "as long as we feel that the political track has promise, ... the Marines will stand ready to respond if attacked. ... When they're attacked, in defending themselves, they will take the proper military actions appropriate to the task at hand."

The deputy director for operations of the Combined Joint Task Force 7 (CJTF-7), Kimmitt said whether the Iraqi leaders inside Fallujah are actually talking to the opposition forces "has always been one of our questions. They continue to tell us that they represent the people, but they don't deliver. We don't see the weapons [being surrendered]. We don't see the foreign fighters [surrendering]....

"So we do remain concerned that these leaders, who we remain engaged with, are not capable of delivering, but we are going to continue ... to give them a little more time, because ... the military option is always ready," Kimmitt said.

The general began the briefing with Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Gareth Bayley by updating the media on military operations of April 27, including events in Fallujah. In that city, enemy forces again attacked coalition defensive positions, in yet another cease-fire violation, Kimmitt said. Coalition forces called in an AC-130 gunship for close air support after receiving rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and direct fire in their defensive positions. Those in the gunship observed enemy forces in a flatbed truck and a sedan driving from intersection to intersection with their lights off, dropping off and picking up personnel, he said.

The gunship, equipped with side-firing 105-mm and 40-mm cannon, fired on the vehicles and destroyed them, causing significant secondary explosions from the ammunition they were carrying, Kimmitt said. Those secondary explosions continued for at least 20 minutes, he added. Enemy personnel ran from the vehicles into a nearby building, and the gunship then fired on them there. Kimmitt said this also resulted in secondary explosions, "indicating the presence of large amounts of ordnance inside the building."

Asked to confirm media reports that citizens of Najaf and other militias there are assaulting Muqtada's Mahdi Army militia, trying to drive them out, Kimmitt said, "We've got some indications as well that there may be some validity to those reports." A militia called the Thulfiqar Army apparently is attacking some members of Muqtada's militia in Najaf, he said. Coalition reports -- "anecdotal evidence, phone calls, and such, as well as report[s] by the New York Times" indicate that Muqtada's army inside Najaf has been "fairly heavy-handed with the citizens in Najaf, demanding goods and services without paying, brandishing weapons, terrorizing people. Could be more than that. ... Don't know the level of it, don't know the detail of it, don't know the scale of it, but we have those same preliminary indications" as reported by the New York Times, he said.

Also during the briefing, Kimmitt announced that a criminal investigation begun in January to probe allegations of prisoner abuse by coalition soldiers at a Baghdad confinement facility is now complete, and "as a result of the criminal investigation, six military personnel have been charged with criminal offenses." The criminal investigation began when an American soldier reported and turned over evidence of criminal activity, including photographs of detainee abuse, he said.

"The coalition takes all reports of detainee abuse seriously," Kimmitt said, "and all allegations of mistreatment are investigated. We are committed to treating all persons under coalition custody with dignity, respect and humanity. Coalition personnel are expected to act appropriately, humanely and in a manner consistent with Geneva Conventions."