Iraqi guardsman quits after insurgents' warning

Iraqi guardsman quits after insurgents' warning: "BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The warning left in the garage of Omar Hameed, an Iraqi national guardsman, showed two bloody swords and a message: ''If you don't quit your job in three days, you will be killed.''

The next day, Hameed, still recovering from a leg injury after gunmen attacked his patrol, gave his reply in signs he hung in the market of his hometown of Mahmoudiya and on the street leading to his home: ''I wash my hands of the Iraqi National Guard.''

He said the decision to give up his job, which paid a relatively hefty $190 a month, was easy because he knew the alternative.
''They have killed many people,'' Hameed said. ''They can reach you anywhere. They can easily break into homes to kidnap or kill you.''

As the Jan. 30 election approaches, insurgents aiming to wreck Iraq's democratic transformation have been targeting members of the country's fledgling security forces with increasing brutality and precision."

BY MARIAM FAM