The U.S. military dismissed reports of a significant insurgent uprising in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Thursday, saying it was a small attack that was ineffective. "The idea that there's this massive uprising and insurgents in Ramadi who have retaken control of the town is incorrect," Major General Rick Lynch, a spokesman for multinational forces in Iraq, told reporters in Washington via videoconference from Baghdad. Reports based on witness accounts said that more than 100 insurgents took up positions in Ramadi, which lies west of Baghdad, and clashed with American and Iraqi troops. The U.S. military has launched raids in Ramadi and other cities to clear out weapons and militants ahead of the December 15 elections, Lynch said. Lynch said that there was "no doubt" that al-Qaeda's top figure in Iraq, Musab al-Zarqawi, was sending his forces to Ramadi, but the U.S. and Iraqi forces are "focused on taking him out in Ramadi". After learning of the reports, Lynch said he contacted the U.S. commander on the ground who told him: "I have no idea what you're talking about." There was one attack with a rocket propelled grenade on a checkpoint that was not effective, Lynch said. The earlier reports said the gunmen acquired positions in the city's southern and eastern neighbourhoods and were heavily armed with machineguns, RPGs, and mortars. A police official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that about 14 mortars hit a building used by U.S. forces. Lynch warned, however, that in the days leading up to the elections more violence attacks can be expected. "There's going to be suicide bombs. There's going to be horrific acts of violence," he said. --SP 2332 Local Time 2032 GMT
