Iraqi government and US troops tightened their grip on the northern town of Tal Afar Monday. Iraqi security officials reported that 80 percent of Tal Afar was on Monday under the control of joint Iraqi-US forces. By Sunday night, the joint forces reported 156 "insurgents" killed and 246 captured. Some "rebels" have succeeded in fleeing to the neighbouring countryside, local police told AFP.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, who ordered the operation in Tal Afar, arrived in this town on Monday for a surprise visit, his office said. He paid this visit as an Internet statement posted on Monday an Iraqi resistance group - the Islamic Army in Iraq - has offered up to $100,000 for killing Jaafari and top officials for launching Tal Afar raid.
Elsewhere, anti-government forces launched a rocket attack overnight on the US consulate in the southern city of Basra, AFP reported. There were no casualties or injuries.
