US and Iraqi forces have scoured Fallujah for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after a tip-off that the Jordanian-born militant may have entered the city.

Zarqawi, head of al-Qaida in Iraq, carries a 25 million US dollar bounty on his head. He stands accused of a series of deadly attacks, which killed many members of American-led and local troops. An Internet recording, since attributed to Zarqawi, calls on Sunni Muslims to fight against the Iraqi election describing the ballot as a plot between the US and its Shi'ite allies.