Insurgents in Fallujah earned about $800 a month, three times that of an Iraqi policeman, according to Syrian and Lebanese fighters.

Insurgents also receive 10 days of basic training, an AK-47 and green uniforms before entering combat.

The Bathist Syrian government has been accused of funding and organizing the fighters, a charge they flatly deny.

However, as violence continues to flair in Iraq, Syrians and other foreign nationals have been pouring across the border into the war-torn country.

American forces retook the city of Fallujah in late November after losing control to rebel forces for about a month. The armed insurgents were largely foreign nationals, not Iraqis, the Pentagon said.

The Defense Department announced last week it would send 12,000 more troops to control the continuing upheaval and to prepare for Iraq’s January elections.