US warplanes struck three areas of Falluja today shortly after the announcement of a deal in which US forces would ease their siege of the city.
The Golan district, scene of heavy fighting with insurgents over the past few days, was one of the three areas hit, witnesses said.
US marines announced the end of the bloody, near-four week siege of Falluja today saying they would hand the city over to an all-Iraqi force commanded by one of Saddam Hussein's generals.
The deal came after intense international pressure on the United States to find a peaceful resolution to the stand-off.
Only last week, American commanders had been threatening to launch an all-out attack on the city to root out Sunni insurgents.
Under a deal reached last night, a new, Iraqi force known as the Falluja Protection Army (FPA) is to start moving into the Sunni city to impose security tomorrow, an army spokesman said.
Marine forces will end their siege of Fallujah, pulling back from their positions in and around the city, while the FPA forms a new cordon around it and then moves into the centre, he said. "The plan is that the whole of Fallujawill be under the control of the FPA," he added.
The siege, which began on April 5th after the killing and mutilation of four Americans in Fallujah, led to the death of hundreds of Iraqis, including many civilians, according to hospital sources.
At least eight marines were killed, but a full American casualty count from the battle has not been released.
Agencies