Iraqi Police defuse bomb

Iraqi Police arrested two men and defused a roadside bomb near the city of Kut, capital of Wassit province, according to a report in Aswat Aliraq, an independent Iraqi news agency.

"An ordinance explosive team defused a 20-kg sophisticated roadside bomb planted in al-Gardhiya district, 4 km south of Kut, which houses the biggest fuel reservoirs in the south," a Wassit security source, who requested anonymity, told the news agency.

The story said that the police were tipped off by a local resident.

The Iraqi Police Force have become more and more independent and effective over the last several months, paving the way for possible U.S. force reductions in the near future.