Officials said the U.S. military and the Iraqi Interior Ministry have overseen an effort to eliminate militia influence from the Iraqi National Police. They said that over the last four months suspected Shi'ite insurgents have been dismissed from senior and mid-level positions within the police.

"They not only have conducted quite a few investigation, they've also found quite a few people guilty, and either punished or fired people for illegal acts or for bad behavior," Brig. Gen. Michael Jones, commander of Civilian Police Assistance Team, said on Aug. 30. "So that's also a very good amount of progress."

Officials said the Interior Ministry has introduced an internal affairs unit. They said the unit has investigated charges of corruption and militia influence within police and other units.

So far, all nine National Police brigade commanders have been fired. Officials said the majority of the battalion commanders have also been replaced.

"I know that earlier when I saw some numbers it was in excess of over 800 of these policemen in these organizations that had been fired or punished and eliminated from service," Jones said. "So that's a fairly significant number I believe and tells me that we're making some progress."

Jones said the National Police has received a significant amount of equipment distributed by the Interior Ministry. He said police training has also increased as Iraqis take over responsibility from the U.S.-led coalition.

Officials said the police have been bolstered by Sunni officers. They said more than 8,000 police, the lion's share of them Sunnis, were hired in the Anbar province. In Baghdad, 2,000 Sunnis were hired for community patrols and security.

Jones said the Interior Ministry was succeeding in tracking weapons deliveries to Iraqi police. He said the ministry maintained a computer system that could account for a weapon's serial number and badge number.

"What I can say is the accountability procedures I've seen that are in place now are actually quite good and satisfactory to me.," Jones said. "And I have a very high level of confidence that the weapons that are being issued by the ministry today they're accounted for. They know who they're going to. They know what serial number that weapon is."

Officials said NATO intends to train the Iraqi police to develop capabilities similar to those of Italy's Carabinieri paramilitary force. They said the police would not receive heavier weapons than those already issued.

The Iraqi security forces have been replacing their Russian-origin assault rifles for U.S. models. In the Iraq Army, hundreds of Iraqi soldiers exchanged their AK-47s for U.S.-origin M-16s.

Officials said the plan, launched in May 2007, would supply U.S. light assault weapons to 3,000 Iraqi soldiers. They said Iraqi soldiers were undergoing a four-day course to learn the M-16s.