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It's On: Heavy fighting around Fallujah
HEAVY fighting has broken out on the edges of Iraq's rebel stronghold of Fallujah, amid continued airstrikes and reports of marines on the move.US warplanes pounded the city as ground forces fought fierce clashes with insurgents on the outskirts, witnesses said. They said there was heavy fighting on the eastern and western fringes, including around a bridge over the Euphrates. US forces had also taken over the main hospital, just outside Fallujah, on the western side, CNN reported. AFP journalists embedded with the military said silver flashes lit up the skies in the latest aerial bombardment. At least eight people were wounded in the strikes, according to medical sources. "We have admitted eight wounded in our establishment," said one Fallujah doctor, who asked his name not be used. He said medics had appealed for foreign aid as they had insufficient resources to handle the wounded. The eastern and western outskirts of the city came under intense fire from 8pm yesterday to 1am today local time (4am to 9am AEDT today), the journalists said. Northwest of the city in the town of Karma, US artillery batteries shelled suspected insurgent positions with support from tanks and helicopters, an AFP photographer said. Meanwhile, a US Marine tank company and infantry unit moved to a staging area near Fallujah ahead of an expected major offensive. Posted by: tipper 2004-11-07 |
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