US kills 60 foreign fighters in Iraq strike

4.30pm

FALLUJA, Iraq - United States warplanes bombed rebel targets near the restive Iraqi city of Falluja on Thursday, killing about 60 foreign fighters, the US military said on Friday.

Doctors at a Falluja hospital said 16 civilians were killed in an air strike, including women and children. Reuters television images showed bloodied bodies on hospital beds.

A statement from the US military said the assault was part of a "precision strike" on an compound used by militants loyal to Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a man Washington says is allied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

It said approximately 90 foreign fighters were at the compound near the town of Qaryat ar Rufush at the time of the attack, which took place at 9.45pm on Thursday.

Three buildings were destroyed and the foreign fighters who escaped the strike fled into Qaryat ar Rufush, it said.

US forces have carried out around a dozen air strikes over recent weeks on Falluja, a Sunni stronghold west of Baghdad which has fallen into rebel hands.

The US offensive is part of a push to retake pockets controlled by insurgents ahead of national elections set for January.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq