Bush says "good progress" made in stabilizing Najaf

US President George W. Bush said Monday that coalition forces were "making pretty good progress about stabilizing Najaf" as fierce fighting there continued into its fifth day between supporters of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and US troops.

Bush made the remarks at a press conference after meeting with visiting Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka in the Oval Office on Monday.

Poland, one of the major supporters of US invasion of Iraq, hassome 2,400 soldiers in Iraq. Bush hailed Polish role in Iraq, saying Polish troops have "performed brilliantly" there. "The Poles have been great allies" of the United States, Bush said.

Belka also defended Polish military presence in Iraq, saying "Polish troops, in our opinion, are doing right things" in Iraq.

"This is not a typical military operation; it's a stabilizationin all sense of this word," said Belka, apparently in response to oppositions at home.

However, with the fierce fighting continuing in Najaf, the Polish military returned command in the province and neighboring Qadisiyah province to the US Marines, according to Polish PAP newsagency on Monday.

The agency said the decision had been taken as the mandate of Polish forces in Iraq only provides for stabilization and defense tasks and not combat.

Poland leads part of the multinational force in Iraq. It was once a 23-nation force of 9,500 troops responsible for south-central Iraq but has dwindled to 6,200 from 16 countries after several pulled out, most notably Spain, which withdrew its 1,300 soldiers after the election of a new government.

According to a recent survey, 73 percent of Poles are opposed to the Polish military presence in Iraq.

Although Bush said "good progress" was made, fighting in Najaf does not seem abated. The US military said more than 360 Iraqi Shiite militiamen and five US soldiers have been killed in Najaf from Thursday, when the fighting began.

Al-Sadr, whose Shiite militia has been battling US forces across Iraq, told a news conference Monday in the holy shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf that he will "defend Najaf until my last drop ofblood."

Al-Sadr's vow to continue fighting was a defiant challenge to Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who visited Najaf on Sunday and called on the Shiite militants to stop fighting.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday also voiced extreme concern over the widespread fighting in Iraq and called for a peaceful solution.

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters, "The secretary-general believes that, in such a situation, force should be a lastresort. He calls for every effort to be made, even at this late hour, to work out a cease-fire and peaceful solution."

"The United Nations is ready to extend its facilitating role tothe current crisis, if this would be helpful," the spokesman added.

In other developments, five hostages, two from Lebanon, two from Jordan, and one from Syria, were freed from captivity in Iraqon Monday. All hostages were in good condition.

The two Jordanian truck drivers were held captive for two weeksby Iraqi militants demanding their company quit the country. The two Lebanese were taken hostage last week when their truck convoy was on the way from Baghdad to Ramadi.

The Syrian driver was kidnapped more than a week ago.

Source: Xinhua