US planes pound Falluja

Zarqawi8217;s group, blamed for a series of kidnappings and suicide bombings, pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in an Internet statement on Sunday, and said it was in contact with al Qaeda over operations in Iraq. After the pullback, witnesses said they heard loud blasts from the direction of a US marine camp east of Falluja. The US military said the explosions were controlled detonations.

Meanwhile, gunmen killed nine Iraqi policemen returning home from a training course in Jordan late on Saturday. 8216;8216;No one survived and the attackers escaped,8217;8217; said a police spokesman in the southern city of Karbala, describing the ambush south of Baghdad.

The interim government hopes to impose its control on Sadr City by peaceful means, but said last week Falluja could expect military action unless it handed over Zarqawi8217;s group. Prospects for a Falluja peace deal have receded since US forces detained the city8217;s chief negotiator on Friday.

The latest air strikes followed raids on Saturday night that killed three people and wounded five, hospital sources said.

Meanwhile, an Internet statement purportedly from Zarqawi8217;s group has said: 8216;8216;We announce that the Tawhid and Jihad Group, its prince and soldiers, have pledged allegiance to the sheikh of the Mujahideen Osama bin Laden.8217;8217;

Washington says Zarqawi is al Qaeda8217;s link to Iraq, but the statement was the first by the group to announce its allegiance to bin Laden8217;s group, which carried out the September 11 attacks. 8212;Reuters