But FIF members attached to the the US marines First Combat regiment have sharply criticised elements of American behaviour in Iraq, including the killing of civilians and the treatment of POWs.

At a dusty crossroads on the outskirts of Baghdad, two brothers vainly search for the remains of a lost sibling believed killed during an Iraqi firefight with US marines.

The family truck is blown apart and the hulk tipped to one side. Around it are the twisted wrecks of tanks, buses, trucks and civilian cars.

A few scant signs of life include the occasional looter and wild dogs, scavenging among the ruins as a member of the FIF watches.

"This is the most grisly part of the job," he said.

As an FIF soldier, the middle-aged Iraqi from the US city of Chicago is not yet willing to give his name, fearing retribution against his family still living in Baghdad.

"We have to bridge the gap between the military and the civilians, if we don't win over the support of the population then Saddam Hussein will win this war even if he is killed and the Baath party loses power," he says.

He is one of three FIF members attached to a US civil affairs unit designed to make contact with Iraqi civilians and convince the local population that the American-led coalition war is solely aimed at Saddam's regime.

Most civilians encountered by the FIF have lost loved ones in the war and with the aid of US marines have coordinated the retrieval of bodies, funerals and maintained checks on prisoners of war (POWs).

The FIF is part of the US-backed Iraqi National Congress (INC) umbrella opposition group which has sent 700 fighters to southern Iraq to join in "removing the final remnants of Saddam's Baathist regime."

But the FIF is also concerned that the behaviour of the US military in the areas it takes over might sway the civilian population in the other direction.

"I have seen blatant abuses of the Geneva Conventions. Livestock and camels have been killed wantingly, civilians have been held for more than the allowed 48 hours. Others shot," said another FIF member.

"Saddam Hussein has indoctrinated Iraqis that Washington is waging war against them and if American soldiers behave badly then the Iraqi people will side with Saddam Hussein and he will win," he added.

The US military counters that criticism. One Public Affairs Officertold AFP there was no evidence to substantiate FIF claims of breaches to the Geneva Conventions and notes that most POWs are not in military uniform and therefore not subject to protection from the conventions.

"Everybody is being fairly treated," Corporal John Hoellwarth, PAO for the First Regimental Combat Team, told AFP.

The FIF admits that part of its agenda is to amend any damage incurred by American and British forces and this is being played out on the dusty outskirts of Baghdad.

Back at the crossroads, both brothers, dressed in black, scour the burnt-out wreck of a truck. A half-buried corpse is spotted about 200 metres away (600 feet) but turns out not to be their brother's remains.

One of the men breaks down, sobs uncontrollably and is comforted by the other.

"This is extremely distressing. Their brother won't be found and he won't receive a befitting burial, that is difficult damage to repair," said the FIF spokesman.

SPACE.WIRE