Family of six killed in Fallujah rocket attack
A family of six, who had just returned to the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah, were killed today when rockets fired from US jets levelled their house.
Neighbour Saeed Mohammed Bassem, 40. said warplanes fired two rockets at their home in the central Wahda area at 4am (2am Irish time).
The couple and their four children had returned to their home overnight after having fled the insurgent-torn city a week earlier, he said.
Ten minutes later, a US warplane fired a rocket that hit the Female Teachers’ Preparation Institute but it did not detonate, said police officer Mohsen Adnan. The projectile fell through the school’s ceiling, but only the launching capsule exploded, he said.
US forces have been hitting the insurgent stronghold for weeks, stepping up aerial and artillery assaults significantly in the past week in an attempt to root out militants including Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – the man whose group beheaded British captive Ken Bigley.
Iraqi leaders have demanded that Fallujah turn over al-Zarqawi, who is believed to operate his Tahid and Jihad terror group from there. The group has claimed responsibility in numerous suicide bombings and hostage beheadings. Fallujah is 40 miles west of Baghdad.
