Iraqis dispute US progress in Falluja

Speaking to Aljazeera by telephone on Saturday, the spokesman said the US military was suffering increased casualties.

"The announcement of the end of the military offensive is proof that American forces are in an impasse ... the American criminals and the Iraqi apostates have suffered more than 150 killed and more than 270 wounded," said Abu Saad al-Dlimi, spokesman of the Shura (consultative) Council of the Muhajidin in Falluja.

Earlier, Iraqi government officials pronounced the conclusion of a massive six-day-old US offensive on Falluja.

"Today alone, young freedom fighters have been able to torch more than 12 [American military] vehicles," said the spokesman, adding that the situation had not changed for the past three days.

'Meeting fierce resistance'

"US forces are still outside the [northwestern] Jolan neighbourhood. US forces were not able to gain one metre of this district," Dlimi added.

"US forces are meeting with fierce resistance from inside Falluja districts ... and are surrounded. They are under missile and artillery fire," he said.

A senior Iraqi official said earlier on Saturday that the battle to retake the rebel bastion of was over, with more than 1000 fighters killed, but that the country's most wanted man, Jordanian fugitive Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had fled.

At the same time, the US military, which spearheaded the six-day assault, argued that commanders on the ground had yet to declare the operation over.

"Operation Fajr (Dawn) has been achieved and only the malignant pockets remain that we are dealing with through a clean-up operation," Qassim Daud, secretary of state for national security, told a Baghdad press conference.

But Dlimi rejected Daud's figure of more than 1000 dead.

"The number of martyrs among young fighters does not exceed 100, the others are unarmed civilians who were crushed by American tanks," said Dlimi.

"If [the Americans] say they have wrapped up operations in Falluja, we are telling them that if that is true allow all satellite networks to enter the city this night so the world can see what is really happening in the streets of Falluja."

"Everything they are announcing is disinformation. Falluja is the theatre of butchery and destruction. Today they bombed the only telecommunications centre which provided links between Falluja and the outside world. Americans are criminals," said the spokesman.
Aljazeera + Agencies

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