HEAVILY armed American troops have returned to some of the most violent areas of Baghdad, patrolling the streets and setting up checkpoints in an attempt to regain control of the city and quell increasing sectarian violence.

Their return sparked fierce criticism from opposition leaders but was welcomed by many ordinary Iraqis desperate for peace after months of murderous violence between rival militias.

US soldiers in tanks and armoured vehicles have moved back into many parts of the capital handed over to the Iraqi police last March after the opening of the country’s new parliament.

Yesterday proved to be one of the most peaceful days in months with no deaths reported in the capital by late afternoon, although two Sunni mosques were raked by gunfire which injured a guard. In contrast, an average of 100 people have been dying in sectarian attacks every day in Baghdad.

The increased American military presence represents the first stage of a plan to send up to 5,000 extra troops to the city, which is beset by car bombs, kidnappings and suicide bombers.

Last week Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, ordered 3,500 soldiers to stay in the country up to four months beyond their scheduled departure.

American officials had tried to place more responsibility for policing Baghdad on Iraqi forces but the policy unravelled as death squads fought for control. The movement of US troops back on to the streets is a tacit acknowledgment that the strategy of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, has failed.

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq’s most influential Shi’ite leaders, delivered a fierce attack on the Iraqi government’s policy at a rally in Najaf last week.

He accused the government of “carelessness” and “wrong policies” and said that Iraq’s security forces should be in charge of stabilising the country. He added that the violence was due to “being lax in hunting down terrorists and upholding the wrong policies in dealing with them”.

His remarks, made to a rally of thousands of supporters, seemed intended to destabilise Maliki and whip up opposition to US troops. But on the streets yesterday it was clear that ordinary Baghdad residents welcomed the relative security that the US forces brought with them.

In Jihad, a suburb in the west of Baghdad notorious for clashes between Sunnis and Shi’ites, residents say they feel safer since the American soldiers returned last week. They have set up checkpoints which are moved every few hours for safety and carry out regular patrols in armoured vehicles.

Many of the mainly Sunni residents say they were frightened of the police and have welcomed the return of the US army.

“We used to say we wanted the Americans to leave because we could look after ourselves; now we want the US army back to stop people being killed,” said one.

Another said: “We can see the American convoys again. For the first time in months I feel that it may be safe to leave home.”

A Sunni resident said that they had spoken to the soldiers who had promised to protect them.

Outside Baghdad the violence continued. A car bomb exploded in a residential district of Kirkuk, about 180 miles north of Baghdad, yesterday, killing four people and injuring another 13, police said. It was the fifth car bombing this month in the city, where tensions are rising among Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen for control of the area’s vast oil wealth.

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