"They literally hide behind women and children, holding them in their houses as they fire," said Major General James N. Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division.

"They really lack manhood. They're violating every sense of decency. They're as worthless an example of men as we've ever fought," he added.

Most of the volunteer fighters cross into Iraq from Syria and come from the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Yemen and Morocco, according to information collected by US officers from prisoner interrogations and other intelligence.

The precise numbers of the fighters, who call themselves Mujaheddin, or holy warriors, is uncertain, the daily said, but a senior US Marine officer put the figure at about 3,000.

Judging from a dozen such fighters -- nine Sudanese, two Syrians and an Egyptian -- captured over the weekend by a Marine unit on a highway leading into Baghdad, they are mostly ordinary men lacking military training, except for some from the Palestinian territories, US officers told the daily.

"Some are absolutely devoted to anti-Zionism or anti-Americanism," said a senior officer who asked not to be identified. Others, he added, are lured under false pretenses.

"They thought they were going to get a wife ... A lot of these guys, this isn't what they signed up for, and they're pretty upset. They were forced to fight."

Armed primarily with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, the guerrillas are a puny match for US and British forces, whose armored vehicles just mow down them down, the daily said.

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