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09/17/2004:

"44 Dead As US Pounds Fallujah"

At least 13 people were killed in a central Baghdad car bomb attack this morning just hours after US strikes on militant targets in the city of Falluja killed 44 people and injured 27.
A suicide car bomber struck near a major police checkpoint in central Baghdad, killing at least five people and wounding 20, according to the health ministry, which is expecting many casualties from the explosion.

The bomb went off at around 12.45pm (0945 BST). Witnesses reported seeing thick plumes of smoke in the air.

Earlier today at least 44 people were killed and 27 were injured in a wave of US attacks on the alleged hideouts of an al-Qaida-linked group in and around the town of Falluja, the Iraqi health ministry said.

According to a statement by the US military, the strikes, which began last night, targeted a compound in Fazat Shnetir, about 12 miles south of the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, where militants loyal to the Jordanian-born al-Qaida ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were gathering to plot attacks on US-led forces in Iraq.

Militants who survived the strikes later sought refuge in nearby villages, but US forces quickly broke off an offensive to hunt them down in an effort to avoid civilian casualties, the statement said.

"The number of foreign fighters killed during the strike is estimated at approximately 60. The terrorists targeted in this strike were believed to be associated with recent bombing attacks and other terrorist activities throughout Iraq," the US military said.

But a health ministry spokesman, Saad al-Amili, said at least 17 children and two women were among the wounded. Hospital officials in Falluja said women and children were also among the dead, but exact figures were not immediately available.

Residents of Fazat Shnetir were seen digging graves today and burying the dead in groups of four.

Full Article: Guardian UK