BAGDAD (AP) -- The police chief in Fallujah says a sweep through the former Sunni insurgent stronghold has turned up no clear evidence that al-Qaida in Iraq or its allies have established a major presence in the city.
Iraqi police and miliary units carried out a series of raids in a district of factories and workshops in the city, but found no significant weapons storehouses and made no arrests.
After a recent spate of attacks, the security forces have stepped up their guard against the possible return of extremist factions to areas that had been relatively calm.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber struck an Iraqi military base near Fallujah, injuring at least 38 Iraqi soldiers.
Fallujah lies about 40 miles west of Baghdad served as a hub for al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent factions before they were mostly driven out by a Sunni tribal uprising and U.S.-led campaigns more than two years ago.
The city's industrial zone was once a center for insurgent bomb-making and rocket production.
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