In the short run, he said, the new soldiers will mainly relieve American troops on less risky assignments like traffic checkpoints and highway patrols.

For one, he will set up "traffic checkpoints," more commonly known as speed traps, in areas where speeding violations are most frequent.

In August, the Capitol Police Department established a new perimeter of traffic checkpoints.

In the Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa, a couple of ballot boxes have been put up as roadblocks at a traffic checkpoint.

Puntland administers most of Galkayo, including key traffic checkpoints and the city's airport.

In another incident, a US soldier is shot and killed in Baghdad while manning a traffic checkpoint.

"That sign says the police have set up a special traffic checkpoint and that we must be prepared to stop."

Their new location will allow for a southbound traffic checkpoint to facilitate U.S. officials to conduct inspection of vehicles heading to Mexico.

The allied armada, though it has been likened to a blockade, is more like a traffic checkpoint on the lookout for drunken drivers.

The officers have set up traffic checkpoints, which have been successful previously in recovering illegal guns and drugs.