There were assassinations in Baghdad, where gunmen killed a senior official of Iraq's Sciences and Technology Ministry and a female employee near the southeastern Zayona suburb, Abdul-Rahman said.
In rebel-held Fallujah, US warplanes unleashed strikes on two houses early yesterday, killing at least 11 people, including women and children, hospital officials said.
Meanwhile, residents of Samarra tried to bury their dead yesterday -- the cemetery was off limits on Sunday -- moving through the streets waving white flags tied to sticks.



