Falluja Counts Cost of Fresh Bombing

23/10/2004| IslamWeb

US warplanes bombed the Iraqi city of Falluja overnight, killing two people and wounding three. Hospital staff said they had received the casualties after what residents said was an air strike on the southern edge of Falluja at about midnight (2100 GMT) on Friday. Residents said US forces detained at least 17 people in outlying areas of the city in raids before dawn. The US military also said it had captured a "senior leader" in the network allegedly run by al-Qaida-linked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, during the raid. A statement said a lieutenant of al-Zarqawi's network had been captured in a raid at 1.30am (2230 GMT) on Friday in what it called a safe haven in southern Falluja. "The individual targeted and captured today was recently assessed to be a relatively minor member of the Zarqawi network, according to intelligence sources," the statement said. "However, due to a surge in the number of Zarqawi associates who have been captured or killed by (US) strikes and other operations, the member had moved up to take a critical position as a Zarqawi senior leader," it said, without identifying the man or stating his nationality. "There were also five other terrorists detained during this raid," the statement added. Determined to regain control of the city, which has become a no-go zone for the US army, more than 1000 joint US and Iraqi forces have encircled the area since last Friday. Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi last week ordered Falluja residents to hand over al-Zarqawi or face invasion. Fallujans have denied that al-Zarqawi is holed up with them. Humanitarian agencies have raised concerns for the welfare of residents in Falluja, which is being hit by US air raids almost every night. **Baghdad blast*** Earlier on Saturday, five US soldiers were injured when a roadside bomb exploded in the path of their vehicle in western Baghdad, a US military spokesman said, adding that none of the troops were badly hurt. "This morning a Bradley was struck by an IED (improvised explosive device). Five soldiers were injured," said the spokesman, Major Philip Smith. The area around the Bradley had been cordoned off and the vehicle would be recovered later, Smith added. An Iraqi journalist told Aljazeera that a US military vehicle was seen ablaze at the entrance to the highway that leads to Baghdad's international airport - one of the most dangerous roads in Iraq for roadside blasts and ambushes. **PHOTO CAPTION*** An Iraqi police officer arrives after a car bomb exploded in Mosul October 22, 2004. (Reuters)

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