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D-Day in Fallujah
Marines Roll Into Fallouja("anonymous/anonymous" has worked so far for log-in) By Tony Perry and Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writers FALLOUJA, Iraq â Thousands of Marines surrounded this anti-American stronghold early today and began moving in to retake control of the city and apprehend those responsible for last weekâs slayings of four U.S. security contractors. The highly anticipated action, dubbed Operation Valiant Resolve, was expected to be one of the biggest military offensives since the fall of Saddam Husseinâs government a year ago. All roads leading to this city of 300,000 were cut off and barricaded with tanks and concertina wire. Working through the cold and windy desert night, Marines set up camps for detainees and residents who might flee. Before dawn, several Marine positions on the fringes of town were hit by mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenade fire; one Marine was reported killed. The Marines called in air support to take out some enemy positions and said in some cases the attackers were working in groups as large as 12. Witnesses reported gunfire overnight and said at least four homes had been hit by what they said were U.S. aerial strikes. At daylight, Marines in armored Humvees began distributing leaflets asking residents to stay in their homes and help identify insurgents and those responsible for last weekâs killings. They also took over the local radio station and used bull-horns to get the message out. "We are going to stop the anarchy inside this city," one of the announcements said. *snip* (Excerpted for copyright compliance) NPR of all people has a guy on the scene outside Fallujah. He reports very heavy firing in and around the city and large numbers of Marines moving in with heavy armor and air support. Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-04-05 |
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