80 Iraqi guerrillas killed in assault on town

Published on 01/10/2004 12:32

MORE than 80 militants were killed today as United States and Iraqi forces pushed into Samarra to wrest control of the northern town back from insurgents.

Doctors said at least 21 civilians were killed and 35 others wounded in hours of fierce street fighting and air strikes in the town, which had been a no-go zone for US forces for months. The US military says it will retake control of guerrilla strongholds like Samarra, the western cities of Falluja and Ramadi and the Baghdad districts of Sadr City and Haifa Street by the end of the year so elections can go ahead in January.

At least seven houses in Samarra were destroyed by the air raids. As dawn broke, US tanks and armoured vehicles rolled through the town, under fire from guerrillas.

The Samarra offensive comes after yesterday’s bloodshed in Baghdad, where three car bombs were detonated near a US military convoy, killing 41 people, 34 of them children rushing to collect sweets from American troops.