Three British soldiers killed in Iraq as Fallujah braces for attack

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Three British soldiers were killed in an attack south of Baghdad, Britain announced as the rebel city of Fallujah braced for an all-out assault after the re-election of US President George W. Bush.
"I very much regret that I can confirm to the House (of Commons) that in an attack on British forces in the Black Watch area of operations, we have suffered a number of casualties, including three fatalities," Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram told parliament.
The deaths were the first among British troops since several hundred of them were redeployed from southern Iraq to more dangerous areas near Baghdad to relieve US troops preparing for an offensive against insurgents in Fallujah.
Britain`s Ministry of Defence said other soldiers had been injured in the attack. A British reporter travelling with the troops from the Black Watch regiment said an Iraqi civilian interpreter was also killed, and eight troops were injured.
US warplanes hammered Fallujah on Thursday after the re-election of Bush who pledged to ensure elections due to be held in Iraq in January are a success.
Thousands of families have already fled the city, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, where US ground troops have massed since mid-October.
Some reports say nearly half of the city`s population of about 300,000 has fled to makeshift camps outside Fallujah or is seeking shelter with fellow Sunni families in Baghdad.
Insurgents hit back with two car bombings around Baghdad that left four people dead and dozens wounded, while two local Iraqi leaders were gunned down in separate attacks.
The relentless violence prompted relief agency Doctors without Borders to announce it was pulling its staff out of the country.
But Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, on a trip to Europe, called on all countries -- including those opposed to the US-led war which toppled Saddam Hussein last year -- to help build a new Iraq.
Analysts said Bush`s victory in the presidential race increased the chances of a violent showdown between US troops and rebels over the flashpoint city of Fallujah, the suspected hideout of Al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers.
US planes bombed rebel positions in the Sunni Muslim bastion overnight, the US military said, while violence also flared in nearby Ramadi.
"US troops will enter Fallujah, Latifiyah, Ramadi and Qaim all at once in the next few days after Bush`s re-election," said Mohammed al-Askari, a former Iraqi army officer turned political analyst, referring to other flashpoints.
US and Iraqi officials are desperate to crush the insurgency ahead of national elections planned for January, and have threatened force if necessary.
"These elections are important," Bush said in his first post re-election news conference, vowing to ensure commanders on the ground in Iraq would receive extra troops if necessary to "complete their missions".
For his part Allawi took a stab at France and Germany, urging "spectator" countries to get involved in stabilizing his country.
"I want to take this opportunity to call on the countries which are content to have a spectator role to help us to build a better Iraq," he told reporters during a visit to Rome.
The situation in Iraq could not be resolved "without the help of all the important countries."
France and Germany strongly opposed last year`s invasion and have refused to send troops to join the US-led coalition in Iraq. Hungary said Wednesday it would withdraw its 300-troop contingent from the country at the end of March.
Time was fast running out for kidnapped aid worker Margaret Hassan after her unknown kidnappers threatened to deliver the British-Irish woman to Zarqawi by a Thursday deadline unless Britain pulled its troops out of the country.
The 59-year-old, who is married to an Iraqi and is the Iraq director of relief agency CARE International, has been held hostage since October 19. The agency has since closed its operations in Iraq.
Insurgents have waged a bloody campaign of bombings and kidnappings in a bid to derail the election process and undermine the interim government.
At least four Iraqis were killed and 18 wounded when a car bomb exploded on outside a city council building north of Baghdad, while a second car bombing to the south wounded six Iraqi national guards.
In a separate attack northeast of the Iraqi capital, unknown assailants shot dead Jassem Ali, who heads the village of Heb Heb, and wounded two bodyguards.
In Ramadi, meanwhile, the head of a powerful local tribe, Sheikh Khamis Futaikhan, was gunned down in an ambush on his car.
In a further blow to Iraq`s rehabilitation, Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres - MSF) said it was pulling out of Iraq because of escalating violence and the danger to its staff.
Meanwhile, a body suspected to be that of an Iraqi man was found in the northern city of Kirkuk, police said, adding that the victim had been blindfolded and shot dead, most likely for collaborating with US forces.
As preparations for Iraq`s polls gathered steam, election organisers announced that Iraqis living abroad would be allowed to vote, ending months of debate over the thorny issue.

11/04/2004 - 20:15 GMT - AFP