http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3609665.stm

"A US air strike has killed up to 40 people inside a mosque compound during heavy fighting in the Sunni Muslim Iraqi town of Falluja, witnesses say...

...Hospital and military sources in Falluja say more than 100 Iraqis have been killed since Tuesday in the town, where US forces have been fighting street battles with insurgents.

At least 30 coalition troops have also been killed in Iraq since Monday, including 12 US Marines in a single attack in the town of Ramadi on Tuesday.

It is the worst escalation of fighting since Baghdad fell to US-led forces a year ago.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said some "seasoned" US troops in Iraq might be kept there longer than scheduled to deal with the surge in violence."


These kind of news must be making it harder and harder for both the Iraqi people and the people in the coalition countries to accept the whole operation. And these events surely won't make it any easier to bring peace in Iraq, at least not anytime soon. Bush and his buddies got a bit more than they bargained for...

__________________