A U.S. warplane fired missiles Saturday into a residential neighborhood in Fallujah, killing at least 20 people and leveling houses, police and residents said.
In the Fallujah strike, at least two houses were demolished and six others were damaged in the poor neighborhood.
At least 20 bodies were counted, and they were taken for burial immediately at the city's "martyrs' cemetery in accordance with Islamic custom of burying the dead quickly. At least three women and five children were among the dead.
Two other people died at the hospital, officials there said.
"At 9:30 a.m., a U.S. plane shot two missiles on this residential area," said the Fallujah police chief, Sabbar al-Janabi, according to The AP. "Scores were killed and injured. This picture speaks for itself."
U.S. officials have said Jordanian-born al Qaeda activist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may be hiding in the city. Al-Zarqawi has been blamed for the string of car bombs across Iraq.
In southern Iraq, a roadside bomb killed at least two people, including a Portuguese security official working for the state-run Oil Products Co. and an Iraqi policeman guarding him, police Capt. Diaa Hussein said.
The two were driving on a road from the southern city of Basra to nearby Zubayr when the explosion destroyed their vehicle. One civilian driving behind them was also injured, Hussein said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
