More than 600 Iraqis killed in Fallujah since April 1

"More than 600 Iraqis have been killed and 1,250 wounded in Fallujah sinc Tan, regional market strategist with research firm Forecast, said she was also looking to revise her 5.5 percent 2004 growth target following the release of the quarterly figures.

"It does seem to suggest the growth is broad based with the manufacturing sector and service producing sector showing strong recovery trends," Tan said.

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The manufacturing sector, a lynchpin of the local economy, grew 14.5 percent in the first quarter on the back of exceptionally strong export orders for technology-related products, the ministry said.

"Increased production of semiconductors and disk drives continued to underpin growth in the electronics cluster," it said.

"This was further supported by healthy performances in the biomedicals and precision engineering clusters."

Electronics output forms the bulk of activity in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for almost a quarter of Singapore's annual GDP valued at 160 billion Singapore dollars (96 billion US dollars).

The service-producing industries grew 5.3 percent compared with a year earlier on the year on the back of strong performances in the wholesale and retail trade, and financial services.

Singapore economic resurgence comes after the city-state was badly affected by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome health crisis last year.

The economy shrank 1.3 percent in the first-half of 2003 but a strong second-half performance lifted GDP growth to 1.1 percent for the full year.

Meanwhile Iraq's National Security Advisor Muaffaq al-Rubaie urged residents of the insurgent bastion of Fallujah Monday to hand over those suspected of the brutal murders of four US contractors there last month to preempt any renewed US offensive in the town.

Rubaie called on "the heroic people of Fallujah, the proud Muslims, the true Arabs, the Iraqi nationalists in Fallujah to hand over those criminals and those who back them to the official authorities.

"And then we would pull the carpet from under anyone seeking to harm Fallujah," he told a press conference.

Rubaie said the week-long US offensive which followed the March 31 killing of the contractors and which has left more than 600 Iraqis dead, was "regrettable, and we regret the shedding of Iraqi blood."

He said the parties responsible for the "inhumane" murder of the American contractors were outsiders seeking to sow discord.

"Because if any subsequent crisis breaks out, it will not harm those people, but the innocent" residents of Fallujah, he said.