US attack kills eight in Iraq
US warplanes, tanks and artillery units bombed the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah today, killing at least eight people and wounding 15, hospital officials and witnesses said.
The US military said the strikes targeted a meeting point in central Fallujah for fighters loyal to Jordanian-born terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
“Intelligence sources reported that Zarqawi terrorists were using the site to plan additional attacks against Iraqi citizens and multinational forces,” the military said in a statement.
American forces also bombed a series of rebel-built fortifications late yesterday, including concrete and earthen barriers and roadblocks, used to restrict movement in the city and mount attacks on Marine positions outside Fallujah, the military said in a separate statement.
Dr Dhiya al-Jumaili of Fallujah General Hospital said at least eight people were killed and 15 wounded, including women and children.
Explosions lit up the night sky for hours and at least two buildings in the city centre were completely wrecked, witnesses said.
The Fallujah mosque switched on its loudspeakers and clerics chanted prayers to rally the city’s residents.
Earlier yesterday, Marines fired artillery rounds after observing a number of insurgents getting out of a vehicle with a mounted machine gun, said 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a Marine spokesman.
Today’s strikes were the latest in a string of attacks against al-Zarqawi’s network, which has claimed responsibility for numerous car bombings, kidnappings and other assaults meant to destabilise Iraq’s US-backed interim authorities and drive coalition forces from the country.
American troops have not entered Fallujah since ending a three-week siege of the city in April that left hundreds dead.
