The following is from tonight’s official AP roundup of events in Iraq for Thursday:
The fighting in Fallujah, nearby Ramadi, and across the south has killed more than 460 Iraqis _ including more than 280 in Fallujah, according to the director of the city’s hospital, Rafie Al-Issawi.
The Islamic Clerics Committee, whose offices are next to the mosque, said 40 people, including whole families, were killed in Wednesday’s bombing. It occurred at about the time worshippers would have gathered for afternoon prayers.
The Marines deny any civilians were killed, but U.S. military commanders said a large number of gunmen were killed in the day’s battle.
From the Guardian UK:
Mohammed Hassan al-Balwa, the head of Falluja’s city council, who is in Dubai for medical treatment, resigned his position. “This American behaviour is in creasing the size of the resistance and it is making all the people sympathetic to them,” he said.
His council was created by the Americans, and Dr Balwa was one of the leading moderate voices in the city who had tried to negotiate with US commanders to find a solution to the endless cycle of violence.
“This behaviour of the Americans will make everyone seek revenge,” he said.
“Falluja has become a symbol for those who reject the occupation.”
CBS showed one Fallujah child who might never have the chance:
Leave a Reply