Marines pulling out of Fallujah [View All]

FALLUJAH, Iraq — The car bomb in Fallujah exploded in May. On that warm evening, insurgents drove a vehicle packed with explosives into mourners of a slain local tribal leader as they wound through a ramshackle corner of the city, killing 20.

The next day, Fallujah's mayor banned all vehicles from city streets.

If there were no cars, reasoned Mayor Saad Awad Rashid, there could be no car bombs.

"It stopped," said Lt. Col. William Mullen, commander of a shrinking force of U.S. Marines in the city who have watched the insurgency melt into the encircling countryside. "The 'significant events' in the city stopped. I think a lot of (the insurgents) left."

The Americans are not far behind: After surrounding the city with walls and improving security on its streets, Marines are pulling back from the one-time insurgent bastion of Fallujah. They are redeploying to surrounding areas as the U.S. troop surge allows them to consolidate progress made largely by tribal leaders and local officials in security and civil works.