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City seizure hours away
US MARINES expect to take complete control of the Iraqi rebel bastion of Fallujah within 48 hours if their assault continues on course, a US military officer said today. "If everything goes as planned we will take full control of the city in the next 48 hours," the officer said. He said the marines would need up to a week to make the northeast corner of Fallujah safe "and at least 10 days to clear the city." American forces said today they had taken control of 70 per cent of Fallujah in the third day of a major offensive to retake the insurgent stronghold. Major Francis Piccoli, of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said enemy fighters were bottled up in a strip of the city flanking the major east-west highway that splits Fallujah. Army and marine units had pushed south through the highway overnight, taking control of more than two-thirds of the rebel bastion, Piccoli said. "There's going to be a movement today in those areas. The heart of the city is what's in focus now," he said.The north-western neighbourhood of Jolan, the historic warren of narrow alleys where Sunni militants rigged booby traps, is now "secured and under control," he said, although marines would continue house to house sweeps in search of fighters and weapons today. Jolan was a key target for US forces during the start of the ground assault. The military said at least 71 militants were killed in intense urban combat in the city's deserted and narrow lanes, but the number was expected to rise sharply once US forces account for those killed in airstrikes. As of last night, 10 US troops and two members of the Iraqi security force had been killed, a toll that already equalled the number of American troops who died when marines besieged the city for three weeks in April. Marine reports said 25 American troops and 16 Iraqi soldiers were wounded. As the American forces crossed the highway that split Fallujah, armoured Army units stayed behind to guard the thoroughfare. The military reported no heavy fighting overnight, but a US attack helicopter wiped out an insurgent rocket launcher southwest of Fallujah. Earlier, as many as eight attack aircraft - including jets and helicopter gunships - blasted guerrilla strongholds and raked the streets with rocket, cannon and machine-gun fire ahead of US and Iraqi infantry who were advancing only one or two blocks behind the curtain of fire. Small groups of guerrillas, armed with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and machine guns, engaged US troops, then fell back. US troops inspected houses along Fallujah's streets and ran across adjoining alleyways, mindful of snipers. A psychological operations unit broadcast announcements in Arabic meant to draw out gunmen. An Iraqi translator from the group said through a loudspeaker: "Brave terrorists, I am waiting here for the brave terrorists. Come and kill us. Plant small bombs on roadsides. Attention, attention, terrorists of Fallujah." Faced with overwhelming force, resistance in Fallujah did not appear as fierce as expected, though the top US commander in Iraq said he still expected "several more days of tough urban fighting" as insurgents fell back toward the southern end of the city, perhaps for a last stand. Posted by: tipper 2004-11-10 |
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