U.S. forces carried out an air strike on the rebellious city of Falluja on Friday, targeting a group of suspected insurgents linked to militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the U.S. military said. "Based on multiple sources of intelligence, the attack targeted 10 to 12 terrorists with known ties to the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi network of foreign terrorists," U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Erv Lessel said in a statement. "The anti-Iraqi forces were struck while in the courtyard of a house; the house was left intact." The statement did not say if anyone was killed in the operation, but residents of the area said at least five people were wounded, two of them children. Over the past month, the U.S. military has carried out seven strikes against suspected safe houses in southwestern Falluja believed to have been used by Zarqawi or his supporters. Around 40 people have been killed in the attacks. The latest strike was carried out in coordination with Iraq's interim government, the statement said. Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is currently out of the country.
