SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 22 (AFP) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Monday the US-led assault to crush insurgents in the western city of Fallujah had been a success although some rebels escaped to Jordan and Syria.
"Fallujah was a major military operation and it was successful. It was a terror base and their challenge to the government has been removed," Zebari told AFP on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq.
"Fallujah was the nerve centre of their operations and I don't think they will be able to re-establish themselves easily," he said in this Egyptian Red Sea resort.
The huge offensive launched two weeks ago against the city, which had been under Sunni Arab insurgent control since April, failed to net all the rebels, some of whom must have fled to nearby cities or across the porous borders with Syria and Jordan, Zebari said.
"They have gone to Baghdad, Ramadi as well as Syria and Jordan," the minister said, without elaborating on the basis of his accusation.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani Mulki, also in Egypt for the two-day conference, said he was not aware any rebels had found shelter in his country but did not rule out the possibility.
"I don't think they came to Jordan but I think they will try," Mulki told AFP.
"When you attack a bees' nest, the bees try to get everywhere.
"Any explosion in Iraq will allow people to flee to neighbouring countries and this will bring unrest, that is why we have a vested interest in making sure that things settle down."
US and Iraqi government troops were still conducting house-to-house searches in Fallujah Monday following the huge assault launched on November 8.
According to the US military, more than 1,200 insurgents were killed in the intense fighting, along with 51 US and eight Iraqi security personnel.
Civilian casualties remain unclear as those residents who remained in the city through the fighting had no access to hospital care. Anything between 33 and 80 percent of the city's estimated 300,000 inhabitants are believed to have fled ahead of the assault.
11/22/2004 14:19 GMT - AFP