- Title: IRAQ: US PLANES BOMB TARGETS IN REBEL CITY OF FALLUJA
- Date: 23rd October 2004
- Summary: FALLUJA, IRAQ (OCTBER 23, 2004 ) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF HOUSE WHERE U.S. FORCES ARRESTED ZARQAWI OPERATIVE 0.06 2. CLOSE OF DAMAGE TO HOUSE 0.13 3. WIDE OF DAMAGE TO INTERIOR / PEOPLE TIDYING UP 0.21 4. SLV / CLOSE OF DAMAGED FURNITURE 0.31 5. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT SAYING A U.S. HELICOPTER LANDED NEXT TO THE HOUSE
- Embargoed: 7th November 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: FALLUJA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVAAS0Y2GDAF0411SDU1QLHBJB08
- Story Text: U.S. forces capture Zarqawi lieutenant in early
morning raid and smoke rises from one of their military
bases following attack.
U.S. planes again bombed targets in Iraq's
rebel-held city of Falluja on Saturday (October 23, 2004).
Two people are reported to have been killed.
But the U.S. military says it has captured a lieutenant
of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the militant at the top of their
most wanted list.
A statement from American forces said five other
suspects were also arrested in a raid at 1:30 a.m. (2230
GMT Friday) on what it called a safe haven of the Jordanian
militant's network in southern Falluja.
A relative of one of the detainees said a helicopter
landed next to the house, raided it and then arrested the
men.
The military statement said one of the individuals
captured had been a minor member of the Zarqawi network but
that "due to a surge in the number of Zarqawi associates
who have been captured or killed by (U.S.) strikes and
other operations, the member had moved up to take a
critical position as a Zarqawi senior leader".
The statement did not name the man or give his
nationality.
The U.S. military says the Sunni Muslim stronghold of
Falluja is a shrinking sanctuary for Zarqawi's group,
blamed for some of Iraq's bloodiest suicide bombings and
hostage beheadings.
A U.S. base was attacked in nearby Habbaniya and smoke
was seen rising from it in the distance.
There were further airstrikes in Sina'i on the southern
edge of Falluja overnight and hospital staff said three
people were wounded.
Although an industrial complex and not a residential
area, a man who had been working there before the attacks
was staying at a factory with his family and was injured in
the air strike.
Residents said U.S. forces detained at least 17 people
in outlying areas of the city west of Baghdad in raids
before dawn.
Residents of Falluja, about 50 km (32 miles) west of
Baghdad, deny knowledge of Zarqawi's network and say
frequent U.S. air strikes inflict a heavy toll on civilians.
In an apparent response to such criticism, the U.S.
military said Zarqawi's men endangered civilians by hiding
among them.
"Those who associate with terrorists and kidnappers,
including family members who support such efforts, are
accountable," the U.S. statement said. Zarqawi's Tawhid wal Jihad
(One God and Holy War) has declared loyalty to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and has claimed responsibility for beheading several foreign hostages, including two Americans and a Briton kidnapped
last month.
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