Post by Salem6 on Feb 14, 2004 11:38:23 GMT
At least 20 people have been killed in an attack on a security compound and government building in the flashpoint town of Falluja, west of Baghdad.
Fourteen police officers and three gunmen were reported among the dead.
One report said guns, mortars and explosives were used
Many prisoners were freed from a holding centre. It is not known why they were being detained.
The attack came two days after the top US commander in the Middle East, Gen John Abizaid, escaped injury in an attack by insurgents in Falluja.
Up to 50 men took part in the latest raid which also left about 30 people injured, it was reported from the town.
"Unknown men fired mortars, explosives and light machine guns from four directions," police officer Earazan Abu Issa told Reuters news agency.
"Their weapons were more powerful than our Kalashnikovs," he said.
The gunmen also attacked the local mayor's office, about a kilometre away, police said.
US troops have moved in to the secure the area.
The town lies in an area known as the so-called Sunni Triangle, the heartland of the guerrilla campaign against the US-led occupation of Iraq.
Security concerns
As the violence continues, diplomatic efforts are under way to establish a stable political order in the country.
But a UN envoy assessing the feasibility of holding early elections in Iraq ended his visit on Friday without holding out any prospect that they could take place soon.
Lakhdar Brahimi told a news conference in Baghdad that big questions had to be answered before anyone could even begin discussing election dates.
Video:-
The BBC's Tim Willcox
"According to one report most of the wounded are policemen"
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39859000/rm/_39859115_fallujah09_willcox_vi.ram
Fourteen police officers and three gunmen were reported among the dead.
One report said guns, mortars and explosives were used
Many prisoners were freed from a holding centre. It is not known why they were being detained.
The attack came two days after the top US commander in the Middle East, Gen John Abizaid, escaped injury in an attack by insurgents in Falluja.
Up to 50 men took part in the latest raid which also left about 30 people injured, it was reported from the town.
"Unknown men fired mortars, explosives and light machine guns from four directions," police officer Earazan Abu Issa told Reuters news agency.
"Their weapons were more powerful than our Kalashnikovs," he said.
The gunmen also attacked the local mayor's office, about a kilometre away, police said.
US troops have moved in to the secure the area.
The town lies in an area known as the so-called Sunni Triangle, the heartland of the guerrilla campaign against the US-led occupation of Iraq.
Security concerns
As the violence continues, diplomatic efforts are under way to establish a stable political order in the country.
But a UN envoy assessing the feasibility of holding early elections in Iraq ended his visit on Friday without holding out any prospect that they could take place soon.
Lakhdar Brahimi told a news conference in Baghdad that big questions had to be answered before anyone could even begin discussing election dates.
Video:-
The BBC's Tim Willcox
"According to one report most of the wounded are policemen"
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39859000/rm/_39859115_fallujah09_willcox_vi.ram