Al-Jazeerah edited news, Fri Oct 15, 2004 05:52 AM ET
By Alistair Lyon BAGHDAD (Reuters) -
U.S. warplanes bombed targets in Iraq's resistance-held city of Falluja Friday, marking a violent start to the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Several people were killed and injured according to Al-Manar TV, which also reported that there were US land raids and tank shilling of the beleaguered city.
"The status quo in certain cities in Iraq is unacceptable," the U.S. military said. U.S. marines, soldiers and Iraqi forces stepped up security operations in and around Falluja Thursday night.
Washington and Baghdad have vowed to retake resistance-held towns and cities ahead of nationwide elections due in January.
There was no immediate word on casualties in the overnight raids.
The Tawhid and Jihad group said it was behind twin suicide bombings that killed five people, three of them Americans, in the heart of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone Thursday.
Hours after the blasts, U.S. warplanes and helicopters launched fierce air strikes on Falluja, but a Pentagon spokeswoman said she was not aware that this was the prelude to a major offensive against the beleaguered city.
"We are continuing operations," she said. "They are apparently hitting targets of opportunity."
The interim government has told the people of Falluja to surrender Zarqawi and other foreign militants said to be holed up in the city of 300,000 or face military action. Residents of the city repeatedly denied the existence of Zarkawi and expressed their frustration that they are being collectively punished.
Falluja residents have scoffed at such statements in the past, saying they have no knowledge of Zarqawi or his group and accusing the Americans of bombing civilian homes.
START OF RAMADAN
Ramadan, observed by Iraq's Sunnis from Friday, will start for majority Shi'is Saturday.
The Green Zone blasts at a souvenir bazaar and a cafe popular with U.S. troops and civilians were the first suicide bombings inside what is supposed to be the safest place in Iraq. The country's interim government quickly vowed to strike back.
"People were screaming. I was on the floor," said Mohammed "Mo" Nawaf al-Obeidi, 25, owner of the nearby Mo's Restaurant, who was at the cafe. "People were stampeding, trying to get out," he said, his right hand bandaged.
At the cafe, an orange metal-framed tent built onto a former petrol station, the area was littered with glass, twisted metal, blood and food. Pieces of flesh were lying up to 15 meters away.
The Zone, in Saddam Hussein's former presidential compound, houses government offices and the U.S. and British embassies.