An Iraqi Red Crescent convoy entered Falluja on Saturday with the first supplies of aid to reach the city since U.S.-led forces began to blast their way in five days ago. Spokeswoman Firdoos al-Abadi said 30 volunteers with five trucks and three ambulances had driven into the city, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, after an initial delay at a U.S. checkpoint. U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed more than 1,000 insurgents in the battle to retake Falluja, Kasim Daoud, minister of state for national security affairs, told a news conference. "More than 1,000 Saddamists and terrorists have been killed. Around 200 have been arrested," he said. "The operations are almost over. There are only pockets of resistance left." The Falluja offensive has inflamed resentment across Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartlands, especially in the northern city of Mosul, where insurgents have seized control of some districts. U.S. President George W. Bush warned that guerrilla violence in Iraq could worsen, despite the Falluja operation, as elections in January approach. --More 2049 Local Time 1749 GMT
