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US Raid Kills 13 In Fallujah On Allawi’s Tip
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Iraqis gather at the scene of the US military air strike that flattened a house in Fallujah (AFP)
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BAGHDAD,
July 6 (IslamOnline.net) – Acting on tips from Interim Iraqi Prime
Minister Iyad Allawi, US occupation troops in Iraq dropped Monday
night, July 5, two tons of bombs on the restive town of Fallujah,
killing at least 13 people.
Hospital
sources said women and children were among the casualties in the
deadly raid, which also inured up to seven others, Reuters news agency
reported.
The
warplanes dropped six bombs at 7:15 p.m. Baghdad time to destroy a
house of Iraqi resistance fighters, the US military said, noting that
it was a joint operation with Iraqi forces.
"This
operation employed precision weapons and underscores the resolve of
multinational forces and Iraqi security forces to jointly destroy
terrorist networks in Iraq," a military statement said.
Immediately
after the bombing, angry residents dug into rubble in search of more
bodies.
"They
talk about terrorists, but these are just families," one man told
Reuters.
It
was the fifth air raid in three weeks on the flashpoint town, and the
first since the US-led occupiers formally returned
powers to Allawi's government on June 28.
On
June 19, at least 24 Iraqis, including women and children, were killed
in a similar
US air strike.
At
least 700 Iraqis, mostly
women and children, were killed and 1500 others injured
when the US occupation forces imposed a tight siege on the city and
intensified air strikes on its densely-populated areas.
Although
the occupation forces claimed the attack was on a safe house used by
foreign fighters loyal to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the Associated Press
has aired a video
tape showing a decorated wedding vehicle and guests
arriving for the celebrations followed by scenes of death and
destruction after a US raid.
Allawai’s
Blessings
Allawi
gave the US occupation forces, now called the US-led multinational
forces, the thumbs-up and said Iraqi intelligence paved the way for
the raid.
"After
consultations between Iraqi government officials and Multinational
Forces-Iraq, Iraqi security forces provided clear and compelling
intelligence to conduct a precision strike this evening on a known
Zarqawi safe house in southeastern Fallujah," Allawi said in a
statement carried by Reuters.
"The
people of Iraq will not tolerate terrorist groups or those who
collaborate with any other foreign fighters such as the Zarqawi
network to continue their wicked ways," he said.
It
is not the first time Allawi gives his blessings to US raids into
Fallujah.
He
defended
the June 19 raid, using the same excuse a "house used by
terrorists had been hit."
United
Front
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"Iraqi security forces provided clear and compelling intelligence to conduct a precision strike," said Allawi (AFP)
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Meanwhile,
Iraqi resistance groups in Fallujah announced they merged their
brigades into five major ones to act in unison, a well-placed source
in the resistance told the London-based Al-Quds Press news agency.
"The
move helps organize the work of the resistance so that it will not
slip out of control and tarnish the image of the resistance," the
source said.
He
named the five brigades as: "Assad Allah Al-Ghalib Ali Ibn Abi
Taleb", "Al-Farouq", "Dhul Nurayein",
"Al-Sidiq" and "Abu Dujana."
Repudiating
American claims,
the fighters denied on June 25 the presence of suspected Al-Qaeda
senior militant Zarqawi in their town, adding they were simply
defending their homeland against occupation forces.
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