Friday September 17, 2004
At least 44 people have been killed and 27 injured in a wave of US attacks on the alleged hideouts of an al-Qaida linked group in and around Falluja, the Iraqi health ministry said today.
According to a statement by the US military, the strikes, which began last night, targeted a compound in Fazat Shnetir, about 12 miles south of the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, where militants loyal to the Jordanian-born al-Qaida ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were gathering to plot attacks on US-led forces in Iraq.
Militants who survived the strikes later sought refuge in nearby villages, but US forces quickly broke off an offensive to hunt them down in an effort to avoid civilian casualties, the statement said.
"The number of foreign fighters killed during the strike is estimated at approximately 60. The terrorists targeted in this strike were believed to be associated with recent bombing attacks and other terrorist activities throughout Iraq," the US military said.
But health ministry spokesman Saad al-Amili said at least 17 children and two women were among the wounded. Hospital officials in Falluja said women and children were also among the dead, but exact figures were not immediately available.
Residents of Fazat Shnetir were seen digging graves today and burying the dead in groups of four.
Doctors at Falluja general hospital as doctors struggled to cope with the wave of casualties, many of whom were transporting in private cars as the ambulance service was overwhelmed.
Relatives pounded their chests in grief and denounced the United States, and religious leaders switched on loudspeakers at the town's mosque to call on residents to donate blood while chanting "God is great".
US forces have not patrolled inside Falluja since the end a three-week siege of the town that left hundreds dead. Insurgents have strengthened their grip since then, mounting regular attacks against US positions and military convoys on the town's outskirts.