J-10
06-19-2004, 07:38 PM
June 19, 2004 — By Fadel Badran
FALLUJA, Iraq (*******) - U.S. forces killed 22 people in an air strike on what they said was a safe house linked to al Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the Iraqi city of Falluja Saturday.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/autowirestory/*******/OLUSTOPNEWS/2004-06-19T141456Z_01_GALAXY-DC-MDF602056_RTRIDSP_1_NEWS-IRAQ-DC.jpg
U.S. military officers said there was no sign Zarqawi himself -- who has a $10 million price on his head -- was in the house when it was destroyed. Furious Iraqis said the dead included women and children.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said in Baghdad the house was being used by fighters loyal to Zarqawi, accused by Washington of leading a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and of decapitating a U.S. hostage last month.
"We have significant evidence that there were members of the Zarqawi network in the house," Kimmitt said.
"Today coalition forces conducted a strike on a known Zarqawi safe house in southwest Falluja based on multiple confirmations of actionable intelligence."
Zarqawi is portrayed by the Americans as a key figure in al Qaeda attacks destabilizing the country at a critical time before a U.S.-led coalition formally hand sovereignty to an Iraqi interim government on June 30.
Pro-American authorities in neighboring Saudi Arabia said they had killed al Qaeda's leader in the kingdom, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, and three other prominent militants.
The Saudi operation came hours after the group carried out its threat to behead U.S. hostage Paul Johnson Friday.
Residents of Falluja said two missiles had been fired at the house by a U.S. plane Saturday morning, flattening the building. Kimmitt said the U.S. strike had caused secondary blasts as ammunition inside the house exploded.
"An American plane hit this house and three others were damaged. Only body parts are left," a witness said, as rescuers dug through the rubble of the shattered house for survivors.
"They brought us 22 corpses, children, women and youth," Ahmed Hassan, a cemetery worker, said after the blast.
From (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/*******20040619_146.html#photocap)
FALLUJA, Iraq (*******) - U.S. forces killed 22 people in an air strike on what they said was a safe house linked to al Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the Iraqi city of Falluja Saturday.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/autowirestory/*******/OLUSTOPNEWS/2004-06-19T141456Z_01_GALAXY-DC-MDF602056_RTRIDSP_1_NEWS-IRAQ-DC.jpg
U.S. military officers said there was no sign Zarqawi himself -- who has a $10 million price on his head -- was in the house when it was destroyed. Furious Iraqis said the dead included women and children.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said in Baghdad the house was being used by fighters loyal to Zarqawi, accused by Washington of leading a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and of decapitating a U.S. hostage last month.
"We have significant evidence that there were members of the Zarqawi network in the house," Kimmitt said.
"Today coalition forces conducted a strike on a known Zarqawi safe house in southwest Falluja based on multiple confirmations of actionable intelligence."
Zarqawi is portrayed by the Americans as a key figure in al Qaeda attacks destabilizing the country at a critical time before a U.S.-led coalition formally hand sovereignty to an Iraqi interim government on June 30.
Pro-American authorities in neighboring Saudi Arabia said they had killed al Qaeda's leader in the kingdom, Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, and three other prominent militants.
The Saudi operation came hours after the group carried out its threat to behead U.S. hostage Paul Johnson Friday.
Residents of Falluja said two missiles had been fired at the house by a U.S. plane Saturday morning, flattening the building. Kimmitt said the U.S. strike had caused secondary blasts as ammunition inside the house exploded.
"An American plane hit this house and three others were damaged. Only body parts are left," a witness said, as rescuers dug through the rubble of the shattered house for survivors.
"They brought us 22 corpses, children, women and youth," Ahmed Hassan, a cemetery worker, said after the blast.
From (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/*******20040619_146.html#photocap)