FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov 13 (AFP) - Iraq said Saturday that the battle to retake the Sunni rebel bastion of Fallujah was over, with more than 1,000 insurgents killed, but that the country's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had fled.
There was no immediate confirmation from the US military, which spearheaded the assault on the city, that control had been wrested from the rebels as aid groups voiced fear civilians trapped by the fighting could be starving.
The following is a chronology of the six-day assault.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8
-- In a pre-dawn raid, multinational forces seize a hospital and two bridges on the western edge of the city, in a prelude to the impending offensive.
-- Prime Minister Iyad Allawi gives the go-ahead for the offensive to start. Operation Dawn is to involve 10,000 US troops backed by 2,000 Iraqis.
-- The US army bans all men aged between 15 and 50 from entering or leaving the city.
-- US marines and Iraqi special forces launch an air and ground assault on the city. Rebels, thought to number between 2,000 and 2,500 fighters, fight back with rocket propelled grenades, small arms and mortar fire.
-- Some 3,000 US troops pour into the city from the north, while intense shelling and missile fire rock the city long into the night.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9
-- Less than 24 hours after the start of the assault, US tanks roll into the centre of Fallujah, seizing one third of the rubble-strewn city.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
-- US-led troops occupy most of Fallujah, tightening their grip on more than two-thirds of the city, as kidnappers pledge to kill three of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's kidnapped relatives unless the assault stops.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11
-- US forces say they aim to control all of Fallujah by November 13, as they launch house-by-house battles to secure neighbourhoods from north to south of the city.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12
-- US troops tighten their grip on Fallujah. US officers announce that 22 US and five Iraqi troops have been killed along with about 600 rebels.
-- Suspected insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi issues a message calling for rebels inside the city of Fallujah to fight on.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13
-- Iraq's national security advisor Qassem Daoud says the battle to retake the Sunni rebel bastion is over and the operation's objectives achieved, but that Zarqawi has escaped from the city.
-- Iraqi officials say the operation has left more than 1,000 insurgents dead, while another 200 were captured.
-- A Red Crescent convoy of emergency aid tries to reach residents inside the city but is prevented by US troops, a spokeswoman says. Iraqi officials have said two-thirds of its population of 300,000 left before the offensive.
11/13/2004 17:07 GMT - AFP