U.S. aircraft have struck at the rebel Iraqi stronghold of Falluja for a third time in 24 hours, targeting a meeting of suspected militants loyal to Jordanian mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Saturday night's strike was aimed at about 10 militants meeting in the city centre to plan operations, the U.S. military said. Eight people were killed and 17 wounded, Anas Ahmed, a doctor at a nearby hospital, said. It was the third U.S.-described "precision strike" in 24 hours, raising to 15 the number of people killed and the number of wounded to 30, among them women and children, doctors said.Zarqawi's group, known as Tawhid and Jihad (Monotheism and Holy War), has claimed responsibility for kidnapping and beheading foreigners and for car bombings and other attacks in Iraq over the past year. After the latest attack, doctors would not let a Reuters cameraman film the wounded as reporters have been allowed to do in the aftermath of previous strikes on Falluja. Residents would also not allow reporters near the site of the attack. "Multiple secondary explosions following the strike indicate the site was used by terrorists to store explosives and weapons," a military statement said.
In the past, Falluja residents have said the U.S. military's precision bombing of suspected militants ended up killing innocent women and children. A child was pulled from the rubble of one building after Saturday morning's attack. "Our religion is one of compassion and love," Musharraf Hussain, a member of the delegation from the Muslim Council of Britain, told reporters after arriving in Baghdad on Saturday.
| "... and that guy Fred, he's slender and limber, with a full head of hair!" |
| I consider it a miracle I can read statements like day day after day without throwing up... |
lacked credibility. North of Baghdad, the U.S. military arrested a commander of the Iraqi National Guard in Baquba, a hotbed of insurgency. The military said on Sunday Lieutenant-General Talib Al Lahibi was detained on Thursday for associating with known insurgents. Lahibi was a former infantry officer in the Iraqi army and an instructor at the Military College in Baghdad. He was appointed to his position inBaquba last week.