- FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) --
Dozens of anti-American insurgents stormed Iraqi security compounds in
the volatile town of Falluja on Saturday in a bold attack that left at
least 22 people dead and freed a number of prisoners.
-
- Falluja police chief Aboud al-Dulaimi said about 70 guerrillas
firing rockets, mortars and machineguns launched the closely coordinated
attack on a police headquarters as well as on a compound for the Iraqi
Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) and the mayor's office.
-
- Police and hospital officials said 14 policemen, four
insurgents and four civilians were killed in the attack, the latest in
a series of assaults on Iraqi security forces seen by the insurgents as
supporting the U.S. occupation.
-
- At least 35 others were wounded in the attack.
-
- An Iraqi police officer said the guerrillas outgunned
the policemen at the station. A government building situated several hundred
meters (yards) away was assaulted at the same time.
-
- "Unknown men fired mortars, explosives and light
machineguns from four directions. Their weapons were more powerful than
our Kalashnikovs," said police officer Earazan Abu Issa, who was outside
the police station when it was attacked.
-
- The attack signaled a growing boldness on the part of
insurgents fighting U.S.-led forces and Iraqis they regard as supporting
the occupiers.
-
- On Thursday, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East,
General John Abizaid, narrowly escaped an assault on his convoy at the
attacked ICDC compound in Falluja, located some 50 km (32 miles) west of
Baghdad in what is known as the "Sunni Triangle" center of resistance
to U.S. forces.
-
- U.S. planes circled overhead and dropped heat balloons
to divert heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles, witnesses said.
-
- Guerrillas have killed more than 600 security and police
forces since April in an attempt to undermine U.S. efforts to prepare Iraqis
to take over security of the country.
-
- BLOODY WEEK
-
- The latest violence in Falluja came during one of the
bloodiest weeks since U.S.-led forces toppled former Iraqi president Saddam
Hussein on April 9.
-
- Two suicide bombs have killed at least 100 Iraqis. Guerrilla
ambushes have also claimed the lives of three U.S. soldiers.
-
- Saddam loyalists and foreign fighters are trying to discourage
Iraqis from supporting occupation forces but many keep signing up for the
police and new army to earn a living.
-
- But U.S. troops remain a primary target in a guerrilla
war that could have broad political implications for President Bush as
he faces presidential elections in November.
-
- A U.S. military policeman was killed in a Baghdad suburb
on Thursday night, the 375th American soldier to die in combat since the
United States and its allies invaded Iraq in March.
-
- While the violence continues almost a year after U.S.-led
invasion, diplomatic efforts are under way to forge a stable post-occupation
political order.
-
- The United States intends to hand over sovereignty to
a transitional Iraqi administration by the beginning of July.
-
- A U.N. envoy sent to Iraq to see if early elections were
feasible said on Friday credibility was more important than timing, after
one of his aides ruled out holding polls before Washington hands back power
in June.
-
- The United Nations is trying to resolve a dispute between
Iraq's majority Shi'ites, who want elections before the transfer, and Washington
which says there is not enough time to organize them.
-
- Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
-
- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=
721&e=1&u=/nm/20040214/wl_nm/iraq_attack_dc
|
