30 April 2004 -- U.S. warplanes launched fresh strikes on the Iraqi city of Al-Fallujah yesterday as progress was reported in efforts to resolve the standoff in the Sunni stronghold in central Iraq.
U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne said a "tentative" agreement includes a withdrawal of U.S. forces followed by a handover of security duties to an Iraqi-led force.
In Washington, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said there was no deal yet.
Marines surrounded Al-Fallujah at the beginning of April after four U.S. civilian contractors were killed and mutilated. Some 1,500 insurgents are believed to be sheltering in the city. Doctors say about 600 people have been killed in fighting in Al-Fallujah this month.
Elsewhere in Iraq yesterday, 10 U.S. soldiers were killed in three separate incidents, eight in a single car-bomb blast.
(Reuters/AP)
In Washington, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said there was no deal yet.
Marines surrounded Al-Fallujah at the beginning of April after four U.S. civilian contractors were killed and mutilated. Some 1,500 insurgents are believed to be sheltering in the city. Doctors say about 600 people have been killed in fighting in Al-Fallujah this month.
Elsewhere in Iraq yesterday, 10 U.S. soldiers were killed in three separate incidents, eight in a single car-bomb blast.
(Reuters/AP)