US forces pounded suspected hideouts of an al-Qaida-linked group in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah and nearby villages this morning, killing at least 32 people and wounding 48 others.

Dozens of Iraqis today accused Fallujah police of handing over Shiite truck drivers to Sunni extremists who slaughtered them after they sought refuge at a police station.

A rebel sniper shot and wounded two US Marines patrolling an industrial zone in the besieged city of Fallujah today and an ensuing gun battle left at least one of the insurgents dead.

A GROUP saying it is an Iraqi branch of the al-Qaida terror network said it - and not Saddam Hussein – is behind the armed resistance against US forces in Iraq, according to a tape shown on an Arab TV station today.