4,000 more US troops arrive in Baghdad

The first additional American troops who will take part in a major new security plan in Baghdad have arrived in the Iraqi capital, the US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, said yesterday.

"The initial elements of the first group are here," he told a news conference. He declined to give more details or say when operations would start but he said a report that 4,000 of the planned 17,500 extra troops had arrived was "real high".

Asked about reports of frustration among US officials with Iraqi counterparts over the planning of an operation to be led by the Iraqi government with US help, Casey said: "Transitions generate friction. And we are in a period of transition."