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| Iraq-Jordan |
| US troops pouring into Fallujah |
| 2004-11-09 |
| Block by block, street by street, US Marines and Army troops Tuesday began seizing control of Fallujah, making unexpected gains against limited resistance, despite some chaotic delays entering the city. Despite the steady rumble of fighting, from frequent artillery and rocket explosions, to bursts of small arms fire across the city, US forces entered a veritable ghost town. The main assault came Monday evening from six battalions arrayed at separate points along the northern edge of the city. Those from the northeast made swift headway, while resistance was much heavier in the northwestern Jolan district. A quicker-than-expected capture of Fallujah would advance the US objectives of denying the rebels one of their bases of operation and pacifying the city ahead of January elections. By nightfall in Fallujah, the Associated Press reported three US soldiers killed Tuesday; insurgent and civilian casualty figures remain unknown. The 1st Battalion 3rd Marines, pushed all the way to the main east-west road that bisects Fallujah - a line that commanders thought might take four days to reach. "So we made it," says a surprised Carlos Cabezasrojas, a sweating lance corporal from Secaucus, N.J., as his Bravo Company launched its final attack of the day. "I got my confirmed kill, too." That "kill" came as Bravo Company pushed south. He spotted two men who fired rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and then tried to bury an explosive device. "I got the first one," says Corporal Cabezasrojas, kneeling with his M-16 rifle at the edge of the farthest point of advance. "The whole squad got the second." The relative ease of advance Tuesday contrasted sharply with the barrages that met US forces when they breached the city limits overnight Monday. The northeast sector penetrated by the 1-3 Marines yielded more stray dogs than armed insurgents. But bold incidents throughout the day underscore that the 3,000 insurgents here are not a spent force. Expecting and finding countless explosive devices and booby traps, American units took few chances as they moved methodically through the city. Every vehicle is treated as a potential car bomb; every person a possible enemy. Approval even came over the radio net to shoot dogs, with shotguns, to prevent them from being rigged with explosives. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 Give them boys, a cigar!!! |
| Posted by: smn 2004-11-09 9:29:28 PM |
| #1 "The whole squad got the second." It's so much fun to gang up. Unfair, but fun and the key to winning. Damn I love a good Nuanced Article! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-11-09 4:41:05 PM |