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Allawi Threatens Massive Onslaught on Fallujah
BAGHDAD, October 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – US-backed Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi threatened a massive assault on Fallujah unless the resistance bastion turns in militant Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi, but a negotiator for the city dismissed the warning, insisting Zarqawi was not in the city.
On the ground Thursday, October14 , Fallujah was struck again by US air raids, as nineteen Iraqis were killed in separate attacks.
In what seemed to be the beginning of the implementation of Allawi’s threats, US warplanes hit the Golan neighborhood in Fallujah, destroying at least one home.
On the ground Thursday, October14 , Fallujah was struck again by US air raids, as nineteen Iraqis were killed in separate attacks.
In what seemed to be the beginning of the implementation of Allawi’s threats, US warplanes hit the Golan neighborhood in Fallujah, destroying at least one home.
On Wednesday, October13 , Allawi warned the people of Fallujah to either give up Zarqawi and his clique or face the prospect of a military offensive against the rebel city.
“We have asked Fallujah residents to turn over Zarqawi and his group. If they don't do it, we are ready for major operations in Fallujah,” Allawi told Iraq's100 -member interim parliament.
But a negotiator for the resistance-held city said Thursday its people were being asked to chase shadows.
“We want to know what proof there is that Zarqawi is in Fallujah," Hatem Maddab, a member of a Fallujah negotiating committee, told Al-Jazeera television, adding that the government had now halted peace talks.
“Zarqawi is like the weapons of mass destruction that America invaded Iraq for,” Maddab was quoted by Reuters as saying, alluding to Saddam Hussein's arsenal of banned arms that proved not to exist.
“We hear about that name (Zarqawi), but he is not here. More than 20 or30 homes have been bombarded because of this Zarqawi and his followers but only women, children and the elderly have been affected,” the negotiator added.
He said the fate of Zarqawi had not been raised in talks with the interim government aimed at restoring state authority in Fallujah before nationwide elections due in January.
“At this point in time, the negotiations are halted for the sake of consultation. We did not suspend any negotiations ... they were stopped by the government," Maddab said.
US warplanes have repeatedly struck at targets the occupation forces claim are hideouts used by Zarqawi and his followers in the Sunni Muslim city, 32 miles west of Baghdad.
However, TV screens and local inhabitants showed mostly civilian casualties after these raids, in what analysts another evidence discrediting US military claims.
Allawi’s words are being seen as the clearest threat yet against fighters holding Fallujah.
Repudiating American claims, Iraqi fighters in Fallujah had earlier denied hiding Zarqawi in the town, stressing that they were simply defending their homeland against occupation forces.
More Blood Spelled
Meanwhile, fifteen Iraqi national guardsmen were killed in an overnight attack in Qaim near the Syrian border, according to a police officer in the town and a message received at provincial police headquarters.
“Armed gumen attacked a national guard post overnight, killing 15 soldiers and stealing their weapons,” read the internal message at the Ramadi headquarters for Al-Anbar province.
A police officer in Qaim confirmed the attack to Agence France-Presse (AFP), and gave the same death toll. The officer refused to give his name.
Elsewhere, four Iraqi national guardsmen were wounded in a roadside bombing in the northern city of Mosul, said an officer with the force.
In addition to the car bombings and kidnappings, members of Iraq's fledgling security forces and those perceived as collaborating with US forces or the interim government have become frequent targets.
Green Zone Hit
The fortified Green Zone in the heart of Baghdad -- home to the US embassy and the Iraqi government -- also came under a mortar or rocket attack, killing eight civilians injuring four others, a US army spokesman said.
“Six civilians were killed and three wounded at the Green Zone bazaar, and two civilians were killed and one wounded at the Green Zone cafe,” a military spokesman told AFP.
He was referring to two locations popular with US soldiers and civilians inside the fortress-like area of central Baghdad.
There was no word on the nationalities of the casualties, in the attack.
Other Casualties
Meanwhile, four Iraqis including two army officers and a judge were gunned down in three separate attacks across the country.
Two army officers were shot dead as they drove through the restive town of Baquba, northeast of the capital, according to police.
In Baghdad, an investigative judge and a woman journalist working for a Kurdish television station were gunned down outside their homes in separate attacks, medics and the interior ministry said.
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2004-10/14/article01.shtml
“We have asked Fallujah residents to turn over Zarqawi and his group. If they don't do it, we are ready for major operations in Fallujah,” Allawi told Iraq's100 -member interim parliament.
But a negotiator for the resistance-held city said Thursday its people were being asked to chase shadows.
“We want to know what proof there is that Zarqawi is in Fallujah," Hatem Maddab, a member of a Fallujah negotiating committee, told Al-Jazeera television, adding that the government had now halted peace talks.
“Zarqawi is like the weapons of mass destruction that America invaded Iraq for,” Maddab was quoted by Reuters as saying, alluding to Saddam Hussein's arsenal of banned arms that proved not to exist.
“We hear about that name (Zarqawi), but he is not here. More than 20 or30 homes have been bombarded because of this Zarqawi and his followers but only women, children and the elderly have been affected,” the negotiator added.
He said the fate of Zarqawi had not been raised in talks with the interim government aimed at restoring state authority in Fallujah before nationwide elections due in January.
“At this point in time, the negotiations are halted for the sake of consultation. We did not suspend any negotiations ... they were stopped by the government," Maddab said.
US warplanes have repeatedly struck at targets the occupation forces claim are hideouts used by Zarqawi and his followers in the Sunni Muslim city, 32 miles west of Baghdad.
However, TV screens and local inhabitants showed mostly civilian casualties after these raids, in what analysts another evidence discrediting US military claims.
Allawi’s words are being seen as the clearest threat yet against fighters holding Fallujah.
Repudiating American claims, Iraqi fighters in Fallujah had earlier denied hiding Zarqawi in the town, stressing that they were simply defending their homeland against occupation forces.
More Blood Spelled
Meanwhile, fifteen Iraqi national guardsmen were killed in an overnight attack in Qaim near the Syrian border, according to a police officer in the town and a message received at provincial police headquarters.
“Armed gumen attacked a national guard post overnight, killing 15 soldiers and stealing their weapons,” read the internal message at the Ramadi headquarters for Al-Anbar province.
A police officer in Qaim confirmed the attack to Agence France-Presse (AFP), and gave the same death toll. The officer refused to give his name.
Elsewhere, four Iraqi national guardsmen were wounded in a roadside bombing in the northern city of Mosul, said an officer with the force.
In addition to the car bombings and kidnappings, members of Iraq's fledgling security forces and those perceived as collaborating with US forces or the interim government have become frequent targets.
Green Zone Hit
The fortified Green Zone in the heart of Baghdad -- home to the US embassy and the Iraqi government -- also came under a mortar or rocket attack, killing eight civilians injuring four others, a US army spokesman said.
“Six civilians were killed and three wounded at the Green Zone bazaar, and two civilians were killed and one wounded at the Green Zone cafe,” a military spokesman told AFP.
He was referring to two locations popular with US soldiers and civilians inside the fortress-like area of central Baghdad.
There was no word on the nationalities of the casualties, in the attack.
Other Casualties
Meanwhile, four Iraqis including two army officers and a judge were gunned down in three separate attacks across the country.
Two army officers were shot dead as they drove through the restive town of Baquba, northeast of the capital, according to police.
In Baghdad, an investigative judge and a woman journalist working for a Kurdish television station were gunned down outside their homes in separate attacks, medics and the interior ministry said.
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2004-10/14/article01.shtml
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