US troops to return to northern Iraq

General Ray Odierno, the US commander in Iraq, plans to quell the rise in violence in the north, despite their withdrawal at the end of June.

The move, in order to help prevent civil war between Kurds and Arabs, would be a departure from the security pact that called for Americans to pull back from populated areas on June 30.

The US soldiers would work with Iraqi government forces and local Kurdish troops to secure the largely unguarded villages along the faultline of land disputed between Arabs and Kurds

But Gen Odierno said no final decision has been made, but Iraqi and Kurdish leaders are receptive to the idea.

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