csua.org/u/9vg -> www.nytimes.com/2004/11/09/international/middleeast/09falluja.html?hp&ex=1099976400&en=23bd2576975f2e52&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Shawn Baldwin for New York Times An American Special Forces soldier, left, with two marines, took aim on M onday at enemy positions from a roof in Falluja soon after an airstrike. The move, following weeks of bombings by American airplanes, marked the b eginning of the main assault on Falluja, expected to be the most signifi cant battle since the fall of Baghdad 19 months ago. Most of the 6,500 American troops and 2,000 Iraqi soldiers went over the embankment at six separate points, military officials said, aiming to cl ear out insurgents one house at a time and eventually take several large public buildings in the heart of the city. The drive into Falluja's downtown came after the interim Iraqi prime mini ster, Ayad Allawi, gave formal authority to the American-led troops to s tart the assault. American and Iraqi officials have said elections plann ed for the end of January would be imperiled if Falluja and other cities in the Sunni Muslim heartland remained in the hands of the rebels. Hundreds or thousands of insurgents met the American attack, sometimes co ntesting every inch of the advance and sometimes melting back into the d arkened houses of the city they have held for more than six months. Fire from rockets, mortars and assault rifles would lash out at the Ameri cans from seemingly deserted buildings until heavy return fire destroyed them one by one, leaving only smoking ruins. Amid the blasts and roar of the battle, loudspeakers at mosques throughou t the city were blaring, "Prepare for jihad!" Americ an commanders appeared to avoid striking the mosques. The number of insurgents in the city is estimated at 3,000, although some guerrillas, terrorist fighters and their leaders escaped the city befor e the attack. American military officials estimated that of a usual popu lation of 300,000, 70 percent to 90 percent of civilians had fled. In the Askari and Jeghaifi neighborhoods in the northeastern part of the city, American troops were already seen in the streets by around 8 pm Monday, said an insurgent who identified himself as Abu Mustafa in a tel ephone conversation. He said insurgent forces were staying fluid, moving around the city to reinforce spots as they were attacked by the America ns. By 1 am Tuesday, American troops assigned to those same northeastern ne ighborhoods had advanced the farthest in the operation - about 800 yards into the city, military officials said. But some of the units farther t o the west, under heavy fire and picking their way through abandoned veh icles, rubble and barbed wire, took hours to advance past a single line of houses. Seven members of the invading force were reported wounded: four were hurt when their vehicle flipped over, and three more when a mortar shell lan ded near them. Two marines drowned when the bulldozer they were driving next to the Euphrates River overturned Monday afternoon. The invasion of Falluja is a calculated risk by the Americans, who had to withdraw during a previous fight for the city in April after unconfirme d reports of heavy civilian casualties sparked outrage among both Sunni and Shiite Iraqis. But they and the Iraqis say they have no choice but t o try again to reclaim the city, which has been controlled by the insurg ents since early May "They'll try to pull us into the city," said Col. Craig Tucker, a marine who was in charge of a major unit called a regimental combat team. About 2,000 members of Iraqi security forces are fighting with the Americ ans, and it was too early to assess how well they were performing. "Some of these soldiers were on leave and just failed to return, but it d id not have a significant impact on our plan," he said.
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