US warplanes target Bigley kidnap group

US warplanes struck twice in rebel-held Fallujah today, destroying a restaurant and a house said to be used by members of the terror group that beheaded Briton Ken Bigley.

At least five Iraqis were killed and two wounded, the city hospital said.

The attack blast destroyed the Haj Hussein restaurant as well as nearby shops, residents said. The restaurant was closed at the time, but two guards were killed in the blast, said Dr Ahmed Thaer from Fallujah General Hospital.

The US military command in Baghdad made no mention of the restaurant but said the target was “a centre” for the Tawhid and Jihad terror network, led by Jordanian-born extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

“Following the engagement, secondary explosions were reported, indicating the strong likelihood of weapons caches and explosive devices,” the statement said. "Terrorists frequently planned operations from this location. Plans included targeting Iraqi governmental leadership, Iraqi security forces, coalition forces and innocent Iraqi citizens.”

The second attack came four hours later and flattened a building which the US command said was a known terrorist safe house.

Intelligence sources confirmed that al-Zarqawi associates were using the building at the time of the strike, a military statement said.

“The terrorists at the site had been involved in planning suicide attacks and kidnappings,” the statement said.

At least three people were killed and two wounded in the blast, Dr Thaer said.

US commanders say weeks of air and ground strikes in Fallujah have inflicted serious damage on al-Zarqawi’s network.

Al-Zarqawi’s network has claimed responsibility for numerous car bombings, kidnappings and beheadings of foreign hostages, including American businessman Nicholas Berg, South Korean translator Kim Sung-il, British civil engineer Ken Bigley and US engineers Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley.