'Time is running out' for Falluja - Allawi

Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said yesterday a showdown was imminent in the western city of Falluja, where US marines are poised for an onslaught on insurgents and Islamist militants.

He said the government was still offering an olive branch, but told a news conference: "Our patience is running thin."

The government says Saddam Hussein loyalists and militants loyal to al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are operating from Falluja and Ramadi, another rebel city west of Baghdad.

Seven people, including women and children, were killed and 11 wounded in clashes between US forces and insurgents in Ramadi, according to hospital director Abdul-Muneim Othman.

Residents said US artillery had shelled eastern districts and said there had been air strikes on Saturday and yesterday.

The military could not immediately be reached for comment. The commander of a marine battalion near Falluja told reporters earlier his men were awaiting orders to attack.

"We will continue to probe the enemy's defence until such time as we decide to enter and clear the city," Lieutenant Colonel Willy Buhl said. "And we'll do that when Prime Minister Allawi and President (George W.) Bush tell us it's time to go."

The aim is to crush Iraqi guerillas and foreign militants in Falluja and elsewhere before national elections in January.

It is not clear whether US and Iraqi forces will launch the offensive before tomorrow's American presidential poll.

Iraq has been a divisive theme on the campaign trail, with Mr Bush defending the invasion and his handling of its aftermath against fierce criticism from Democratic challenger John Kerry.

Asked about on-off peace talks with Falluja notables, Mr Allawi said: "We have no negotiations with Falluja because Falluja is part of Iraq. We want to free this town from the grip of terrorists who came from abroad."

The government has repeatedly demanded the people of Falluja hand over Zarqawi militants and accept the return of Iraqi security forces or face military action.

"If there is a failure in doing this peacefully, then we will do it by force," he said. "We have to restore stability in Iraq... The window for such a peaceful settlement is closing."

Mr Allawi said there could be no compromise with fighters loyal to Zarqawi, Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden.

Mr Allawi said authorities had arrested 167 Islamist militants in the past few weeks, most of them non-Iraqi Arabs.

Mr Allawi said a "few thousand" followers of Saddam's former deputy president Izzat Ibrahim had also been detained in the past few weeks, among them two of Ibrahim's top aides.