Iraqis flee fighting in Samarra
2-day offensive leaves 125 dead

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, October 04, 2004

Waving white flags, Iraqis fled the city of Samarra on river boats on Sunday as U.S. forces claimed victory over insurgents in the first step of an offensive aimed at taking control of rebel-held cities and that left 125 people dead.

Overnight, American warplanes hammered Fallujah, another rebel-held city, killing at least four people, hospital officials said.

The operation in Samarra, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad, brought condemnation from residents about the cost in lives and suffering.

The U.S. strategy of "precision strikes" also came in for criticism from Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar who described the air assaults as collective punishment.

In a statement, the U.S. military said warplanes had conducted "another precision strike" in Fallujah on Sunday, the latest in a weeks-long campaign of strikes targeted at Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers.

"Air strikes on cities are a very annoying issue and not acceptable in any way. I consider it collective punishment," Yawar told Al-Arabiyya television network.

In Samarra, aid organizations said they were concerned about a lack of water and power and the fate of hundreds of families forced to flee.

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