Iraqi security forces have move to the foreground as U.S. forces reconfigured to supervisory roles, but that situation has reversed as an incursion into Iraq's Diyala province has provoked sectarian conflicts and a lack of will from Iraqi troops.

Staffing concerns in the Iraqi police forces in particular have prompted U.S. soldiers to take the initiative in several raids in border areas of the restive province, Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the U.S. military, said.

Iraqi police admitted to operating on half of the manpower normally required for daily operations, and with Ramadan under way, few men will show up for duty.

"It is frustrating," said U.S. Army Capt. Solon Webb.

U.S. military officials have recruited the Sunni paramilitary force Sons of Iraq to conduct operations in Diyala as part of an offensive to target Shiite and al-Qaida operatives, but the lack of reliable Iraqi security forces has raised concerns over mounting violence in the area.

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