Insurgents claim to have chemical weapons
AS the US reeled from the death of nine marines in Iraq at the weekend, insurgents in Fallujah claimed to have obtained chemical weapons and threatened to use them in any battle for control of the rebel stronghold.
Rebel commanders said chemicals such as cyanide had been added to mortar rounds and missiles that would be deployed against coalition troops reported to be preparing for a major assault on the town west of Baghdad.
The insurgents in Fallujah contain a lot of ex-Saddam military types, so it is possible they got their hands on some chemical weapons, or some industrial chemicals they can use as chemcial weapons. But there is also a good chance they are just trying to force the Americans to gaurd against the threat of chemical weapons.
The US military emphasised that the final order to attack should come from Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who has told the people of Fallujah to hand over Zarqawi's followers.
Peace talks to avert an assault on Fallujah, believed to have started last Wednesday, are being held by a Government-backed delegation and leaders from the rebel-held Sunni city of 200,000 people.
The US is spinning hard on this. Their terms to Fallujah are more or less impossible to meet, but they want to be able to blame the attack on Fallujah's insurgents as much as possible.
Jay