Ramadi, Anbar (NINA)- Muhammad al-Halbousi, a Falluja resident, could not receive the Eid al-Adha occasion before visiting graves of his 16 family members who were killed in the subsequent violent events the town witnessed after the 2003 invasion.

"How can I ever celebrate 'Eid' after losing my father, mother, sisters, grandmother and uncle in a battle that we were not only no party to, but also we did not have the least motive to participate in, except for that destiny had made us residents of Joulan neighbourhood in northern Falluja, which was bombarded by American aircrafts on April 10, 2004," says Halbousi, whose story was not unique in the town that has regained security after years of death and destruction.

Raheem al-Fahdawi, another Falluja inhabitant, said, recalling events of the past years, "They just can not forget their beloved ones who were killed either during military operations or at the hands of al-Qaeda gunmen, who spread violence, death and intimidation allover the town, turning it into a massive graveyard, as the only sport club's field was transferred into a mass grave that currently consists remains of no less than 700 bodies."

"Gunmen aboard two cars abducted my only son Ali, who was found hours later killed and dumped at a waste yard," Um-Ali, the mother of a 20 years old policeman who was killed by gunmen in July, 2006, says, recalling the bitter memories. "He was not killed for a specific reason; only because he was a policeman and wanted to earn his living in an honorable manner," she added

Falluja was the scene of military siege and fierce battles in April, 2007, following the brutal killing and mutilation of four foreign security firm's personnel, which was retaliated for by a massive military campaign by the American marines to capture the brutal killings' perpetrators. during the operations the town was severely struck, leading to the killing of many gunmen and civilians who were caught in the crossfire. Seven months later, in November of the same year, U.S forces launched another military campaign against gunmen in the town, and the Status of Emergency was announced for the first time during the term of the Iraqi interim government, headed by Premier Ayad Allawi. /End/