11/13/2004 8:00:00 PM GMT
Iraq's national security advisor said on Saturday that at least 1,000 Iraqi fighters were killed in the U.S.-led assault on the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Fallujah which broke out Monday night.
"The number of killed has risen to more than 1,000 and we have arrested more than 200 so far," Qassem Daoud said in a press conference in Baghdad, referring to the U.S. deadly offensive in the rebel-held city.
However, the U.S. military, which spearheaded the offensive, refused to confirm the figure.
Also 22 U.S. soldiers and five Iraqi troops were killed in fighting in Fallujah.
When asked to comment on the situation in southern Fallujah, where fierce fighting erupted on Saturday, Daoud said: "The mission is accomplished and there only remains these few pockets, which are being cleaned up."
Before launching the major offensive, the U.S military officials estimated that between 2,000 and 2,500 Iraqi fighters were hiding in the city and prepared to fight.
Iraqi interim PM Iyad Allawi gave the green light to the U.S. occupation forces to launch their major assault in Iraq since last year's U.S.-led invasion in an attempt to regain control of Fallujah, which symbolizes the Iraqi resistance.
However, some suggest that some of the resistance fighters have fled the offensive in Fallujah and now are running riot all over Iraq, particularly in Mosul, northern the Iraqi capital.
Iraqi fighters have seized control over banks and government buildings in Mosul, in the absence of police.
"By attacking police stations and occupying the centre of a city for one hour or one-and-a-half hours, they are trying to create the impression that they are alleviating the pressure on Fallujah, that a state of chaos has been installed and the Iraqi cities are falling," said Daoud.
"We will crush, with all our strength, any element that brandishes weapons and parades in the streets," he declared.