Fallujah negotiators deny that al-Zarqawi is in Fallujah:
Iyad Allawi told Iraq’s interim assembly that Fallujah must surrender Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, America’s top enemy in Iraq, or face military action.
“We want to know what proof there is that Zarqawi is in Fallujah,” Hatem Maddab, a member of a Fallujah negotiating committee, told Arabic Al Jazeera television, adding that the government had now halted peace talks.
US warplanes have repeatedly struck at targets the military says are hideouts used by Zarqawi and his followers in the Sunni Muslim city 50 kilometres west of Baghdad.
“Zarqawi is like the weapons of mass destruction that America invaded Iraq for,” Mr Maddab said, alluding to Saddam Hussein’s arsenal of banned arms that proved not to exist.
“We hear about that name (Zarqawi), but he is not here. More than 20 or 30 homes have been bombarded because of this Zarqawi and his followers but only women, children and the elderly have been affected,” the negotiator added.
He said the fate of Zarqawi had not been raised in talks with the interim government aimed at restoring state authority in Fallujah before nationwide elections due in January.
“At this point in time, the negotiations are halted for the sake of consultation. We did not suspend any negotiations … they were stopped by the government,” Mr Maddab said.