Fighting in Falujja resulted in killing 20 Iraqis

The US marines backed by tanks and helicopters carried out fierce fighting with Iraqi resistance fighters to the north of Falujja yesterday that resulted in killing 20 Iraqis, just 48 hours of a permanent cease fire.

The attack came at a time in which leaders of the Marine forces said that none of the resistance men did surrender their weapons, according to the agreement which was finalized on Monday between Falujja leaders and the occupation authority. In reaction to that, the marine forces stopped the process of returning back the families back to the city. Earlier 10 families returned back to Faluja before the marine officers announced that 600 families are waiting at the inspection point said will not be permitted in.

Commander of the marines which besiege Falujja, col. Brian Burn, described these fighting as "great violations" to Monday's agreement. I do not know what its implications will be." He added that the fighting started when 13 resistance men opened their machine gun fires and missile shelling at positions for the marines and a helicopter was summoned to kill 10 of them and then other 30 fighters joined the fighting which lasted for 4 hours and ended when F-16 planes dropped two large bombs that resulted in killing other 10 fighters.

Then the American tanks broke in al-Golan quarters in the city and a series of breaking in operations were made. A spokesman for the marines forces said that the fighting resulted in wounding three American soldiers.

On the other hand, the Danish foreign ministry said yesterday that the Danish businessman who was kidnapped last week in Iraq was found killed.