Baghdad is still unsafe: US military

Baghdad remains a dangerous place, with US-led forces facing sporadic firefights, a US military spokesman said on Thursday.

Baghdad remains a dangerous place, with US-led forces facing sporadic firefights, a US military spokesman said on Thursday at the war command headquarters in Qatar.

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"Baghdad is still an ugly place. Many parts of the city are either not secured by US forces and in other parts there are paramilitary forces or Republican Guards," said Major General Victor Renuart.

"In Baghdad operations are ongoing; we have a number of localized pockets of resistance," he told journalists at the US Central Command base.

He said the US-led forces completed setting up a cordon around the city. "We believe we have cut the major routes in and around the city," Renuart said.

"Despite what we see in terms of localized euphoria, this operation is a long way from complete. Large areas are not yet stabilized," said Renuart.

"There's a long way to go still," he said.