On Monday an agreement was reached on the formation of an Iraqi Army brigade made up of 4,000 soldiers recruited from Anbar, who will provide security in the province, Al Jazeera Net reports in Arabic.

Al Jazeera Net reports in Arabic that an Iraqi security source said that the function of the brigade will be to protect the cities of Anbar from armed groups that move about in the vast region whose territory stretches along the border of Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Further details on the formation of the new brigade were not available.

Meanwhile, US forces imposed a 24-hour curfew on the Anbar city of Haditha and its environs, Aswat al-Iraq reports in Arabic.

An eyewitness told the news agency that, “Using loudspeakers, American and Iraqi forces informed the residents of the city of Haditha and the suburbs of al-Haqlania and Barwania of the curfew on leaving their homes, saying that the curfew would last from noon on Monday for 24 hours.”

“The American forces prohibited citizens from entering Haditha through the city’s only entance,” the source continued.

As the curfew applies to vehicles and pedestrians alike, the streets of the city were empty of each, Aswat al-Iraq reports.

An other eyewitness from the city reported to the news agency that the American forces have cut off all the streets in the city.

Haditha is located 200 km west of Ramadi in Anbar Province, and is one of the cities of the area that witnesses armed operations targeting US and Iraqi forces.