Dozens killed in Iraq violence as Egypt, Britain seek to free hostages

FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sept 26 (AFP) - US airstrikes on rebel-held Fallujah left 15 dead while an insurgent attack in another troubled Sunni Arab town killed 10 more, as Britain and Egypt stepped up efforts Sunday to secure the release of hostages in Iraq.
The arrest of a top national guard commander with links to the insurgency dealt a blow to a fledgling security apparatus under pressure to secure Iraq in time for January elections, as Britain admitted dismantling Sadam Hussein`s old army was a mistake.
The latest US air strike on Fallujah targeted what commanders said was a meeting place for militants of suspected Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi`s Unity and Holy War group, which is holding Briton Kenneth Bigley hostage.
But medics in the town, west of Baghdad, said there were again women and children among the casualties.
"Intelligence sources indicated that approximately 10 terrorists were meeting at this location to plan operations targeting innocent Iraqi civilians and multinational forces," the US military said.
Two hospitals in the city reported receiving eight dead and 22 wounded, including women and children, while residents said many victims remained under the rubble.
At least two homes in the area were destroyed while others suffered significant damage.
An earlier US air strike on another alleged hideout of the militants killed seven Iraqis and wounded 11, again including women and children, according to medics.
Following the air strikes, twin car bombings struck US and Iraqi security forces west of Fallujah, causing casualties of both nationalities, a US commander said.
No further details were immediately available late afternoon.
Another 10 people were killed in an insurgent attack on a convoy of petrol tankers in Latifiya, an insurgent bastion immediately south of Baghdad, medics said.
Iraqi security sources said a group of attackers sprayed gunfire on the tankers, setting fire to all five trucks and sparking a fierce firefight with national guardsmen escorting the convoy.
One Iraqi was killed and four people wounded when a mortar round ploughed into a busy shopping district of Baghdad, police said.
Police also reported a farmer was killed when he got caught in clashes between US troops and insurgents near the town of Baquba, north of the capital.
The fledgling Iraqi security forces -- long a target of supsicion from US-led troops -- suffered a fresh blow to their credibility as the US military announced it had detained a senior national guard commander for eastern Iraq on suspicion of links with insurgents.
The officer, a former general in Saddam Hussein`s army, was one of the most senior Iraqi security personnel detained for alleged involvement in anti-coalition attacks.
His detention followed the arrest of a police officer and four suspected agents of Zarqawi last week in the commander`s area of responsibility.
The coalition has been struggling to recruit, fund and train a credible force capable of relieving US-led troops and British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged for the first time in an interview Sunday that disbanding the old army completely might have been a mistake.
"I do accept that there was probably one error that was made, which is that, in retrospect, I think to disband the Iraqi army in its entirety and to ... remove all elements of the Baath party from positions of authority in Iraq, was done too quickly," Blair told the BBC.
Partly under pressure from exiled opposition parties, one of the first moves of the coalition after the March 2003 invasion was to disband Saddam Hussein`s army and undertake a vast "de-Baathification" operation.
Yet the move pushed many experienced military officers into the arms of insurgent groups that are now posing the most serious challenge to the Iraqi government`s authority and to the organisation of elections in January.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged Sunday that the poll timetable could be difficult because of what he described as a worsening insurgency.
"There will be polling stations that are shot at. There will be insurgents who will still be out there who will try to keep people from voting," Powell told CNN.
"Because it`s getting worse, we will have to increase our efforts to defeat it," he said in a separate interview with the ABC network.
Powell`s remarks contrasted with the rosy picture of growing stability in Iraq painted by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi during his visit here last week to address the US Congress and meet President George W. Bush.
The US official`s admission came against the backdrop of an unrelenting hostage crisis, which saw both British and Egyptian envoys lobbying intensively for the release of nationals.
Two leaders from the Muslim Council of Britain arrived in Baghdad Saturday to kick off a mission aimed at establishing contact with the captors of the 62-year-old Bigley.
It was not known exactly who they were scheduled to meet, but the organisation`s leader in London said Daud Abdullah and Musharraf Hussain would hold talks with various religious and political leaders.
Two US colleagues who were abducted with the British engineer were beheaded by their captors from Zarqawi`s Unity and Holy War group.
Bigley`s family have made heart-rending pleas for his release. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday "we`ll continue to do all we can for Ken" but also warned against excessive optimism.
Egyptian envoy Faruq Mabrouk meanwhile held talks with a top Sunni cleric to press for the release of six nationals among eight employees of Egyptian telcoms giant orascom abducted in Iraq last week.