IRAQ: U.S. SAY ZARQAWI LOYALISTS TARGET AFTER AIR STRIKES KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN FALLUJA.

Record ID: 342256

  • Title: IRAQ: U.S. SAY ZARQAWI LOYALISTS TARGET AFTER AIR STRIKES KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN FALLUJA.
  • Date: 13th September 2004
  • Summary: (W3) FALLUJA, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 13, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. LV: NIGHT VIEWS SHOWING DARKNESS WITH SPOTS OF LIGHT, AUDIO OF GUNFIRE AND THUDS OF EXPLOSIONS 0.17 2. GV/MV/CU: DAY VIEWS OF PEOPLE GATHERING AT BOMBED HOUSE; FLATTENED HOUSE, DAMAGED CONCRETE BRICKS; PART OF HOUSE DESTROYED BY BOMBING (3 SHOTS) 0.41 3. GV/PAN: DAMAGED SHOPS, PAN TO PEOPLE ON STREET 0.52 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED FALLUJA RESIDENT, SAYING: "America said that Falluja is a hotbed of Mujahideen, but there are only families, women and unarmed people. After all this, it is normal the people of Falluja fight them and hate them. Those who are fighting them (the Americans) are not Iraqis or Arab Mujahideen. Those who are fighting them are the innocent dying children." 1.09 5. GV/PAN: AMBULANCE DRIVING AWAY 1.20 6. CU/TILT DOWN: "EMERGENCY WARD" SIGN, PAN TO ENTRANCE TO WARD 1.26 7. MV/CU: WOUNDED WOMEN IN HOSPITAL (2 SHOTS) 1.41 8. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UN-NAMED DOCTOR AT FALLUJA HOSPITAL, SAYING: "At 4:30 a.m. (24:00 GMT) this morning, Falluja General Hospital received eight wounded people including a woman. The bombing was so extensive and heavy that it included areas close to the hospital and districts in the centre of Falluja city." 1.59 9. CU: SIGN READING "FALLUJA GENERAL HOSPITAL" 2.06 (U3) FALLUJA, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 13, 2004) (REUTERS) 10. GV/MV/CU: HEAP OF DAMAGED CONCRETE BRICKS, DAMAGED AMBULANCE; DAMAGED AMBULANCE CAR AND PEOPLE NEARBY; DAMAGED AMBULANCE CAR; BLOOD ON FLOOR OF AMBULANCE CAR; BLOOD ON GROUND; CLOSE OF AMBULANCE (4 SHOTS) 2.40 11. G/MV/CU: PEOPLE CARRYING BODY FOR BURIAL; PEOPLE LOWERING BODY INTO GRAVE; MAN YELLING NEAR GRAVE; PEOPLE STANDING NEAR GRAVE (5 SHOTS) 3.22 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 28th September 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: FALLUJA, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA3U33P4OKIC1V5IY4CTBHY4CVA
  • Story Text: U.S. says target was Zarqawi loyalists when air
    strikes were launched on Falluja killing 16 people
    including women and children.



    U.S. forces launched air strikes on the rebel-held
    city of Falluja on Monday, targeting what they said was a
    meeting of key loyalists of their top foe in Iraq,
    Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

    Iraqi doctors at Falluja Hospital said 16 Iraqis were
    killed, including women and children. But the U.S. military
    said its intelligence suggested only Zarqawi followers were
    killed.

    The Falluja attacks followed one of the most violent
    days in Iraq in recent months in which at least 110 people
    were killed in Baghdad and other Iraqi towns.

    "Intelligence sources reported the presence of several
    key Zarqawi operatives who have been responsible for
    numerous terrorist attacks against Iraqi civilians, Iraqi
    security forces and multinational forces," a U.S. military
    statement said.

    "Intelligence reports indicated that only Zarqawi
    operatives and associates were at the meeting location at
    the time of the strike," it said. "Iraqi Security Forces
    and multi-national forces effectively and accurately
    targeted these terrorists while protecting the lives of
    innocent civilians."
    At Falluja hospital, one doctor said the bombing was
    heavy and included civilian areas. "The bombing was so
    extensive and heavy that it included areas close to the
    hospital and districts in the centre of Falluja city," the
    doctor told Reuters Television. The U.S. military has
    accused Iraqis in Falluja of exaggerating the extent of
    civilian deaths, while most Falluja residents insist
    civilians are being targeted.

    Columns of black smoke rose into the sky and hundreds
    of Iraqis could be seen leaving the city. U.S. forces used
    loudspeakers to call on the people of Falluja to cooperate
    with them and "expel terrorists from the centre of the
    city".

    The city is a cauldron of anti-U.S. anger. American
    marines pulled out of Falluja in May after weeks of
    fighting with guerrillas which killed hundreds of Iraqis
    and sparked widespread outrage in the country. Security was
    handed over to an Iraqi force which has since
    disintegrated.

    "America said that Falluja is a hotbed of Mujahideen,
    but there are only families, women and unarmed people,"
    said one Falluja resident, standing outside a destroyed
    home. "After all this, it is normal the people of Falluja
    fight them and hate them. Those who are fighting them (the
    Americans) are not Iraqis or Arab Mujahideen. Those who are
    fighting them are the innocent dying children."
    The U.S. military has conceded it is not in control of
    some parts of Iraq, including Falluja and the nearby city
    of Ramadi. U.S. and Iraqi officials say they are launching
    a drive to pacify these areas in time for elections due in
    January 2005.

    Washington says Falluja has become a haven for
    guerrillas and foreign fighters loyal to Zarqawi, who has
    claimed responsibility for a wave of suicide bombings and
    the killings of foreign hostages. The United States has
    offered a $25 million reward for information leading to his
    death or capture.




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