- FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) -
U.S. aircraft have launched a new air strike in the rebel-held city of
Falluja, aimed at killing supporters of a Jordanian militant who has led
a campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings in Iraq.
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- The U.S. military said the attack on Saturday targeted
supporters of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and no innocent civilians were in the
area. But doctors at Falluja's main hospital said at least seven civilians
were killed and 13 wounded, including women and children.
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- Reuters television pictures showed a crowd of Iraqis
digging through the ruins of a destroyed building, and pulling out survivors
including two women and two children.
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- "Intelligence sources reported that Zarqawi terrorists
were using the site to plan additional attacks against Iraqi citizens and
multinational forces," U.S. forces said in a statement.
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- "There were no innocent civilians reported in the
immediate area at the time of the strike," it said. "Multinational
forces took multiple measures to minimise collateral damage and civilian
casualties."
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- Zarqawi's group said this week it had killed American
hostages Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley, and posted video footage on
the Internet showing them being beheaded.
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- The Tawhid and Jihad group says it will also kill Briton
Kenneth Bigley, 62, unless Iraqi women are released from U.S. run jails.
Bigley was snatched along with the two Americans at their house in Baghdad
last week.
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- Prominent British Muslims were expected to arrive in
Baghdad this weekend via Kuwait to plead for Bigley's life.
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- There have been three audacious raids to seize foreigners
in Baghdad this month. Two female Italian aid workers were kidnapped more
than two weeks ago, and on Thursday evening two Egyptian workers were snatched
from their office in the capital.
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- Two guerrilla groups have said they killed the Italian
women but gave no proof, and Rome said the claims were unreliable. An Islamist
website that earlier had reported the Italians had been killed said on
Saturday Bigley had been slain. The British Foreign Office said the claim
lacked credibility.
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- U.S. OFFICIALS AT ODDS ON POLLS
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- U.S. forces have mounted repeated air strikes on Falluja
targeting supporters of Zarqawi, who has a $25 million (13.9 million pound)
price on his head. The city, 32 miles west of Baghdad, is seen as a haven
for insurgents and foreign fighters.
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- After heavy fighting in the city in April killed hundreds
of Iraqis and sparked widespread anger, U.S. marines pulled out, handing
responsibility for security to an Iraqi force. That force has collapsed
and the city is controlled by insurgents.
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- The U.S. military has conceded it is not in control of
rebel strongholds like Falluja and nearby Ramadi, but says it will launch
a campaign to retake them ahead of elections in January. Four U.S. marines
were killed on Friday in three attacks in the Iraqi province that includes
Falluja and Ramadi.
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- On Saturday, a U.S. soldier was killed in Baghdad after
his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, the U.S. military said.
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- Since the start of the war in Iraq, at least 796 U.S.
military and Pentagon personnel have been killed in action.
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- The question of whether some areas may have to be excluded
from the polls has put U.S. officials at odds.
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- Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conceded on Thursday
that elections might not be possible in areas in rebels hands. That contrasted
with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage who said elections had
to be "open to all citizens".
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- Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi called on world leaders
to put aside disagreements over the war in Iraq to help his nation. Violence,
he said, would not stop polls going ahead in January.
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- In the latest guerrilla attack on Iraq's fledgling security
forces, gunmen opened fire on men travelling to a Baghdad recruitment centre
in a van, killing six, the Interior ministry said. Insurgents also fired
mortars at the Oil Ministry building in Baghdad, but there were no casualties.
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- U.S. forces clashed with rebels in Baghdad's central
Haifa Street, notorious as a haven for insurgents and criminals. There
were no reports of casualties.
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