Seven people killed in restive Fallujah

Seven people were killed and 11 others wounded in the restive city of Fallujah on Monday, police said.

A roadside bomb went off near an Iraqi army patrol in central Fallujah at about 8:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast damaged a military vehicle, killing three soldiers aboard and wounding another, the source said.

In addition, clashes between unknown gunmen and militia in Ameriyat al-Fallujah town, seven km south of Fallujah City, left four people dead and ten others wounded, the source said.

The shootout broke out at about 9:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) and lasted approximately 20 minutes after the gunmen opened fire at the town's vegetable market, prompting the militia, who volunteered to protect the town from frequent attacks, to hit back.

Meanwhile, police found five unidentified bodies near the Euphrates River in southern Fallujah, the source said.

The bodies showed signs of torture and were riddled with bullets in their heads and chests, he added.

Up to 50 civilians have been killed for the past two weeks in and around Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, Captain Muhammed Ahmed, a local police officer told Xinhua.

The Sunni-dominated Fallujah has frequently witnessed insurgent attacks against the U.S. and Iraqi government forces despite U.S.- Iraqi military crackdown.

Source: Xinhua