SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Until recently, when shoppers at the South Gate Market inquired about the availability of ruman, they weren't always referring to the tough-skinned fruit whose ruby-red seeds are said to soothe an ailing stomach.

In the crowded concourses here, ruman also is code for hand grenade. But shopkeeper Hussein al-Kenani says there is no fruit these days.

As recently as three weeks ago, there was no shortage of dealers openly entertaining offers for grenades, mortars, AK-47s and a variety of handguns, all within a mile of coalition headquarters...

All of that is abruptly changing. In recent weeks, U.S. military and Iraqi police forces have conducted raids aimed at disrupting the network of dealers supplying weapons to insurgents who continue to strike against U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians...

Few are suggesting that the arms supplies have magically disappeared. The stream of rockets arching over the city is a constant reminder of how weapons and explosives have saturated the country and remain a constant threat.

Still, the joint U.S.-Iraqi operation offers some hope that fledgling Iraqi security forces can make small improvements in the rhythm of daily life often interrupted by the pop of gunfire or the whistle of rockets overhead.