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Major shelling attack in Fallujah
A U.S. military gunship and coalition tanks waged a heavy attack Tuesday on suspected insurgent positions in Fallujah, attacking weapon storage sites used by anti-American forces. The fierce attack â captured on television cameras using night-vision technology â produced a series of around 25 explosions. An AC-130 gunship flying above Fallujah targeted its 105 mm howitzer guns on two positions 150-yards apart from each other on the ground, sending showers of sparks and flames into the air. The strike coincided with the deadline U.S. military officials imposed on insurgents in Fallujah to turn in their weapons. It was not immediately clear if there was a direct connection between the two. In recent days, U.S. and coalition officials have suggested they were willing to let negotiators on the ground have more time. But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld suggested Tuesday before the attack that the talks might not work. "If you've got some very tough people in a city that are terrorists ... you have to expect that they're not going to be terribly cooperative," Rumsfeld said. Earlier in Fallujah, a city around 35 miles west of Baghdad that has been site of strong anti-American protests, joint patrols of U.S. Marines and Iraqi police that were scheduled to begin Tuesday have been put on hold until Thursday because of violence. Fighting on Monday that was captured by television news crews showed Marines fighting from inside apartment blocks, firing from window to window, stacking up sandbags and eventually calling in airpower for assistance. Enemy forces in Fallujah and elsewhere have been using holy sites for shelter as they fire upon the U.S. military. On Monday, U.S. troops came under heavy attack, a day after U.S. officials decided to extend a cease-fire rather than launch a full-scale offensive on that city. Eight suspected insurgents and one U.S. Marine were killed. Military officials were hopeful that talks between city leaders and insurgent groups were making progress, and that another offensive would not have to be launched. "The Marines on the ground seem to be quite pleased with the way things are going there" in Fallujah, Kimmitt told Fox News on Tuesday. "I think the sense on the ground is, as long as we're making progress, let's see if this political track can work." Posted by: Sherry 2004-04-27 |
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