My Way News - current events in Iraq and Falluja:
"U.S. and Iraqi authorities are using a combination of persuasion and force to try to curb a mounting insurgency in time for elections in January. Some U.S. military commanders have expressed doubt that voting will be possible in all parts of the country.
Among those areas where voting is unlikely is Fallujah, an insurgent bastion 40 miles west of Baghdad believed to be a stronghold of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad movement.
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's interim government, which is determined that all Iraqis should be able to vote, said it was nearing agreement on a plan to bring its forces back into Fallujah after weeks of U.S. airstrikes aimed at militants in the city.
Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said the broad outlines of a deal had been agreed with city representatives, including tribal leaders and clerics.
The plan calls for a three-day halt to attacks, after which Iraqi troops will be allowed into Fallujah without U.S. forces, Shaalan said in an interview published Friday in the London-based Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat. Residents would hand over heavy weapons but could keep personal firearms, he said.
Khalid Hamoud, a tribal leader who sits on Fallujah's governing council, confirmed there was broad agreement on these points. But he said not all council members were ready to sign off on the deal. In particular, they are looking for guarantees that raids will stop and the U.S. military will pull back from positions around the city, he said. Further talks were set for Saturday.
Allawi said re-establishment of the rule of law in Fallujah is nonnegotiable.
'Terrorists must either surrender, or we'll bring them by force to justice,' he told Al-Arabiya television.
Even as talks progressed, American warplanes struck a building where the U.S. command said leaders of al-Zarqawi's network were meeting early Friday.
Residents said the house was full of people who had gathered for a wedding. The attack killed 13 people, including the groom, said Dr. Ahmed Saeed at the city hospital. Seventeen others were wounded, including the bride, he said."
"U.S. and Iraqi authorities are using a combination of persuasion and force to try to curb a mounting insurgency in time for elections in January. Some U.S. military commanders have expressed doubt that voting will be possible in all parts of the country.
Among those areas where voting is unlikely is Fallujah, an insurgent bastion 40 miles west of Baghdad believed to be a stronghold of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad movement.
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's interim government, which is determined that all Iraqis should be able to vote, said it was nearing agreement on a plan to bring its forces back into Fallujah after weeks of U.S. airstrikes aimed at militants in the city.
Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said the broad outlines of a deal had been agreed with city representatives, including tribal leaders and clerics.
The plan calls for a three-day halt to attacks, after which Iraqi troops will be allowed into Fallujah without U.S. forces, Shaalan said in an interview published Friday in the London-based Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat. Residents would hand over heavy weapons but could keep personal firearms, he said.
Khalid Hamoud, a tribal leader who sits on Fallujah's governing council, confirmed there was broad agreement on these points. But he said not all council members were ready to sign off on the deal. In particular, they are looking for guarantees that raids will stop and the U.S. military will pull back from positions around the city, he said. Further talks were set for Saturday.
Allawi said re-establishment of the rule of law in Fallujah is nonnegotiable.
'Terrorists must either surrender, or we'll bring them by force to justice,' he told Al-Arabiya television.
Even as talks progressed, American warplanes struck a building where the U.S. command said leaders of al-Zarqawi's network were meeting early Friday.
Residents said the house was full of people who had gathered for a wedding. The attack killed 13 people, including the groom, said Dr. Ahmed Saeed at the city hospital. Seventeen others were wounded, including the bride, he said."
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