A "precision" airstrike by multinational forces on Thursday has targeted a building in northern Falluja that was being used by followers of reputed terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to coalition forces. Three of al-Zarqawi's associates were said to be in the area at the time of the strike, which took place at 2:21 a.m., the Coalition Press Information Center said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Coalition forces said they learned of the building through several Iraqi intelligence sources.
On Wednesday, Dr. Rafi al-Isawi from Falluja's general hospital said six Iraqis were killed and 15 were wounded in fighting overnight and into the morning. The heaviest fighting occurred in eastern Falluja's Al-Askhri district, a district that has been hit hard in recent weeks. Earlier, insurgents staged more assassination attempts Wednesday against Iraqi officials in Baghdad and in the northern city of Mosul -- killing one, wounding one, and missing another. Meanwhile, a group that claims to have captured an Iranian consul to Iraq in August released a statement demanding the release of 500 Iraqi prisoners within 48 hours. The Islamic Army in Iraq listed six names of those 500 Iraqi prisoners, according to a statement on its newly created Web site. The site also showed several identification cards for Faridoun Jihani, including one issued by Iran's Foreign Ministry.
The Iraqi official assassinated Wednesday was Col. Assmail Ayyal, an explosives expert and the deputy of Baghdad crime unit. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in western Baghdad, near the highway road of al-Adil district, according to police and the Interior Ministry. A deputy of internal affairs in the Ministry of Interior, Col Akrahm Nahi, eluded death in another assassination attempt, police and the ministry said, but his driver was critically injured. The incident occurred in central Baghdad in the al-Rasafa section of the city. In Mosul, a member of the local council, Hisham al-Hamdani, was wounded in his neighborhood Wednesday morning when gunmen fired on his car from another car. Two of his bodyguards were killed, an Iraqi security official said. |