Another strike on Falluja

U.S. forces mounted an air strike on the Iraqi city of Falluja Friday, the latest in a series targeting suspected fighters linked to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the U.S. military said.

The military did not say if anyone was killed in the operation, which targeted the courtyard of a house. Residents in the town, 30 miles west of Baghdad, said at least five people were wounded, two of them children.

"Based on multiple sources of intelligence, the attack targeted 10 to 12 "terrorists" with known ties to the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi network," U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Erv Lessel said in a statement.

In Falluja, a prayer leader condemned the U.S. raids. Strikes over the last month have killed about 40 people.

"The Americans don't want peace in the town. They kill women and children every day on the pretext of targeting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, which they know is not present," Sheikh Mohamed Abdullah told about 700 worshipers at Friday prayers.

In the past month, U.S. forces have carried out seven strikes against suspected safe houses in Falluja believed to have been used by Zarqawi's group

Al-Jazeerah article

The last strike was on Monday. This is an ongoing operation of destruction to a city considered one of the holiest, referred to as "the city of mosques". (Previous posts documenting the crusade.) If Americans don't recognize that, the Iraqis do.

Iraqi fighters in Falluja, their faces hidden behind chequered cloths, have denied in a taped message that al-Qaida-linked Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was holed up in their city.

"The American invader forces claim that al-Zarqawi, and with him a group of Arab fighters, are in our city," a masked man read from a piece of paper on Friday.

"We know that this talk about al-Zarqawi and the fighters is a game the American invader forces are playing to strike Islam and Muslims in the city of mosques, steadfast Falluja."

Aljazeera article