The US siege of Falluja eased yesterday but with the announcement that over 600 Iraqis have died in the town this week, according to Dr Rafa Hayad al-Issawi, the director of the city's main hospital. Lara Marlowe reports from Baghdad
He said the dead mostly included women, children and elderly.
A US marine commander in charge of the siege of the city however last night claimed 95 per cent of those killed were legitimate targets.
Asked about the report of 600 dead, US marine Lieutenant Col Brennan Byrne said: "What I think you will find is 95 per cent of those were military-age males that were killed in the fighting. The marines are trained to be precise in their firepower ... the fact that there are 600 goes back to the fact that the marines are very good at what they do," he said.
US marines finally carried out the unilateral "suspension of activities" promised on Friday which has been extended to 7 a.m. today Irish time.
The relative calm in Falluja yesterday allowed up to 60,000 civlians to flee the town and with them came reports of their week-long ordeal in the besieged town.
Eye-witness accounts included attacks by US Apache helicopters and snipers and living conditions without clean water or electricity.
International relief groups said 1,200 people have been wounded in the attack that began on April 5th. The wounded reportedly include 243 women and 200 children.
Insurgents yesterday shot down a US Apache attack helicopter 5 km west of Baghdad airport, killing both crew members. The highway west of the capital, leading to Falluja, has seen heavy fighting since April 9th. Two US convoys have been attacked, with the loss of more than 10 lives. More than 50 US soldiers were killed in fighting across Iraq during the past week.
The siege has damaged the US-appointed Governing Council, three of whose members resigned in protest at the weekend. One of them, Dr Iyad Allawi, was seen as a potential leader of Iraq by US occupation forces.
The US has made the departure of al-Jazeera correspondents a condition for continuing the ceasefire. At the same time, Iraq has become extremely dangerous for foreigners.
Al-Jazeera reported yesterday that anti-US forces now hold 30 foreign hostages. There were conflicting reports about the safety of the three Japanese hostages with reports that Japan's government had been informed by one negotiator that they were safe but were still being held by militants. Earlier, however, reports said one of the Japanese would be executed.
Guerrillas continued to hold US civilian Thomas Hamill, having said they would execute him unless the siege of Falluja was lifted. A British civilian Gary Teeley was released near Nasuriya yesterday evening.
Al Jazeera showed a videotape last night with a masked man claiming eight foreign men described as truck drivers who were held hostage had been released.
"We have released them in response to a call from the Muslim Clerics Association ... after we were sure that they will not deal with the occupation forces again," the man said in the tape. They were three from Pakistan, two Turks, an Indian, a Nepali and one from the Philippines. Looking frightened, the men read out their names, nationalities and ages to the camera.
Two German Embassy security guards appear to have been murdered near Falluja. A correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph said he was shown their bodies, and the British newspaper printed a photograph showing one body.
Al Jazeera yesterday showed images of men it said were two Americans killed by insurgents.
A group that has made death threats against Iraqis working with foreigners told The Irish Times interpreter that they kidnapped two foreign journalists in central Baghdad on Saturday.
"We assume that any journalist who goes to places where there is fighting is spying for the Americans." - (Additional reporting AP)