13 November 2004 -- Iraq's national security adviser says more than 1,000 insurgents have been killed and some 200 captured during the six-day military operation by U.S. and Iraqi forces in the rebel stronghold of Al-Fallujah.
Qassem Daoud said today that the operation to retake control of Al-Fallujah from anti-U.S. militants is almost over and that only "pockets" of resistance remained.
But he said that Jordanian militant Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, who has carried out numerous attacks against U.S. forces and kidnappings of foreigners, has escaped.
The U.S. military yesterday said 22 American and five Iraqi soldiers have been killed since U.S. and Iraqi forces launched their ground assault on Al-Fallujah on 8 November. The number of civilian casualties is not known.
Meanwhile, Iraqi national guardsmen were called in to secure the northern city of Mosul, where insurgents reportedly controlled portions of the city after three days of attacks on police stations and government buildings.
(Reuters/AP/AFP)For the latest news on Iraq, see RFE/RL's webpage on "The New Iraq".