 |
|
"As Muslims on campuses you need to be preparing solutions for the whole society," Altikriti said
|
FALLUJAH,
June 19 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – At least 24 Iraqis,
including women and children, were killed in a US air strike of the
western Baghdad city of Fallujah on Saturday, June 19, local
inhabitants said hospital officials said.
"An
American plane fired at about
10:30 am
(0630 GMT) on our houses," one resident, who did not want to give
his name, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Other
residents said an American helicopter fired a missile which destroyed
two houses and damaged two others in the Jbail district of the
300,000-inhabited city, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of
Baghdad
.
American
military spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt claimed the strike
targeted suspects linked to Al-Qaead militant Abu Mussab Zarqawi.
Washington
has been blaming most of attacks on its occupation forces on Zarqawi
and Al-Qaeda.
This
is the first American attack on the flashpoint city since
US
marines withdrew at the beginning of May after a month of fierce
clashes.
At
least 700 Iraqis, mostly
women and children, were killed and 1500 others injured when
the
US
occupation forces imposed a tight siege on the city and intensified
air strikes on its densely-populated areas.
A
truce was later agreed, under which an Iraqi force was put in charge
of security in the city.
But
on April 13, the
US
troops breached the ceasefire, killing at least nine Iraqis and
wounding up to 38 others.
This
is deadliest American attack on civilians since May, when
US
helicopters killed
more than 40 people, including several children, during a
wedding party in western
Iraq
.
Although
the occupation forces claimed the attack was on a safe house used by
foreign fighters entering
Iraq
from
Syria
, the Associated Press aired a video
tape showing a decorated wedding vehicle and guests arriving for
the celebrations followed by scenes of death and destruction.
More
Casualties
In
the meantime, a Portuguese telecoms staffer and two Iraqis working for
Iraq
's oil company in the south were killed by a roadside bomb near the
city of
Basra
, 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of
Baghdad
, officials were quoted by the AFP.
An
Indian was also wounded, while police and the British military in the
area differed over whether one or two Iraqis had also been hurt.
The
blast, the latest in a wave of attacks affecting
Iraq
's southern oil industry, came after a
US
military official said oil exports from the area would resume Sunday,
June 20.
In
northern
Baghdad
, an explosive device hit a convoy of vehicles working for Kellogg
Brown and Root, a unit of the American oilfield services giant
Halliburton
,
US
military sources said.
A
lorry was set ablaze but there were no casualties.
At
least 35 people were killed and 120 wounded when a powerful
car bomb exploded early Thursday, June 17, at the gates of a
recruitment centre for the new Iraqi army in
Baghdad
.
The
bombing came few hours after seven foreigners, including three
US
occupation soldiers, and five Iraqis were killed in separate
attacks across the war-ravaged country.
A
car
bomber blew himself up on a busy Baghdad street early Monday,
June 14, as a convoy of vehicles from the U.S.-led occupation drove
past, killing at least 12 people, including five foreigners, and
wounding up to 50 others.
It
came hard on the heels of a deadly bombing that
rocked the Iraqi capital Sunday, June 13, and killed 16
Iraqis.
