FALLUJAH, Iraq, Oct. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- US forces launched a new round of fierce air raids on Iraq's restive city of Fallujah late Friday, killing at least four people and injuring a dozen others.Four houses in al-Jugayfi in east Fallujah were badly damaged and people dragged four bodies out of the debris, a Xinhua correspondent reported on the scene.

    Abdullah Sagar, an official of the Fallujah Hospital said the four dead were two children, one woman and one man. Among the 12 other injured people, eight were children, he added.There was no word from the US military in Baghdad on the strike,apparently targeting an area near a mosque, which was heard calling for prayers after the bombardments.

    The US-led forces had intensified air strikes in the city, 50 km west of Baghdad, targeting suspect sites used by purported militants loyal to terror mastermind Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.Earlier in the day, US and Iraqi forces killed more than 100 militants and captured 37 others in a major offensive in Samarra, 100 km north of Baghdad.

    Intensive operations in troublous areas were believed underway to curb the surging rebel across the country as the nation-wide elections were only four months away. Enditem