U.S. Bolstering Force in Deadly Diyala

In recent weeks, U.S. troops say, they have killed and captured dozens of fighters and driven many more out of the area. Adopting a strategy similar to the Baghdad security plan, U.S. soldiers have recently opened up at least seven small combat outposts in and around Baqubah where they live and work amid the most volatile neighborhoods. The troops are negotiating with local tribal and insurgent leaders to encourage Sunnis to reject al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Capt. Marc Austin, a company commander of the 1st Battalion of the 12th Cavalry Regiment, said soldiers from his unit will eventually move into a ring around Baqubah to let others take downtown.

"Now you've got the mini-Baghdad security plan here. You've got forces inside and you've got heavy forces outside encircling, cutting off the lines of supply," he said.

In Buhriz, soldiers said shops have reopened and streams of people have moved back into their homes along what were barren streets just a month ago. On Friday, the Stryker troops gathered tribal leaders into the defunct Buhriz government center to coordinate distribution of an emergency shipment of rice, vegetable oil and other provisions to residents.

"It's nice because you actually feel like you're making a difference out here, you can see it change for yourself," said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Gunderson, 32, who is based at Fort Lewis, Wash.

But venturing into parts of the city is still risky. At Combat Outpost Adam, opened less than two months ago in an abandoned college building in downtown Baqubah, soldiers spent part of Saturday morning firing their weapons at gunmen hiding on rooftops, behind woodpiles and driving by on scooters.

By mid-morning, the soldiers had moved out to the main Baqubah market, a nearly deserted strip of shuttered shops, piles of trash and glass, and the rubble of collapsed buildings in Al Amin neighborhood. The few people shopping when the U.S. and Iraqi troops showed up got in their cars and left. On a yellow concrete wall, someone had spray-painted in Arabic: "Long live the insurgents. God is greatest. Down U.S.A."

The soldiers crept up the street along both sidewalks, crouching behind walls and pointing their machine guns down the dirty alleys. Each window and crenulated rooftop along the street was a potential sniper roost. "It's not looking good right now. I'm just getting a real bad sense," said Sgt. Kirk Fuller, 23, of Tulsa.

A single gunshot rang out. The soldiers ducked into shops. At the all-clear, they crept back outside. At 11:21 a.m., an object lobbed over a concrete wall bounced on the sidewalk and rolled past a cluster of soldiers.

"Hey, that's a live grenade!" Fuller shouted. "Get inside! That's a live grenade!"

The soldiers sprinted into shops and around the corner.

But the grenade did not explode.

When they came out from their cover, the soldiers searched the house behind the wall but found nothing except a man in white boxer shorts and a T-shirt. They finished their patrol and drove back to base. Afterward, Capt. Austin gathered his men in a dark hallway.

"The only thing was that grenade. I don't know where it came from," he said. "We were very fortunate on that. Everybody, say a prayer tonight and thank the good God above."