11-09-2004, 07:18 PM
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#47 (permalink)
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Junkie
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Erm...
I don't believe the "pacification" has been achieved at all. I have no idea what the Independent meant by that headline.
Quote:
'Heavy fighting' ahead in Falluja
The US officer in charge of the assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja has warned that fighting in the rebel stronghold could become even more intense.
Lt Gen Thomas Metz said he expected several more days of heavy fighting as his forces try to crush insurgents.
The US military said soldiers reached the centre of the city on day two of the major assault, and that 10 US and two Iraqi soldiers had been killed.
Relief groups say they are deeply worried about the fate of civilians.
A man who fled the city told the BBC the streets were littered with bodies.
'Tough urban fighting'
On Tuesday, the US-led forces attacked Falluja with tanks, artillery and aircraft as their soldiers advanced to the city centre.
US and Iraqi forces have been fighting street by street with rebels armed with rifles and mortars.
An American tank commander said US troops were killing insurgents whenever they saw them.
Lt Gen Metz, the multinational ground force commander in Iraq, said that troops were achieving their objectives on or ahead of schedule.
But the fight for the city was far from over, he said.
"I think we're looking at several more days of tough urban fighting," he told reporters at the Pentagon via a videophone.
But he added that he assumed that many of the insurgent leaders, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - the Jordanian militant blamed for car bombings, kidnappings and beheadings - had fled before the assault began.
In Washington, President George W Bush praised the US-led forces in Falluja.
"Our prayers are with the soldiers and their loved ones, as they're doing the hard work necessary for a free Iraq to emerge," he said.
However, Iraq's largest Sunni-led political party, the Iraqi Islamic Party, pulled out of the interim government in protest at the Falluja assault.
The main association of Sunni clerics also voiced its disapproval, calling for a boycott of elections due in January.
Meanwhile, Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, using the emergency powers he activated on Sunday, imposed an indefinite night-time curfew on Baghdad.
Concern for civilians
The United Nations refugee agency and the International Committee of the Red Cross have expressed concern about the civilians in Falluja.
Most of the city's 250,000 civilians fled the city before the offensive began, but up to 50,000 are estimated to remain there.
FALLUJA ASSAULT FACTS
Up to 15,000 US and Iraqi troops involved
Estimated 3,000 Iraqi insurgent and foreign fighters in city
Estimated 30,000 civilians remain out of usual population of more than 250,000
The BBC's Paul Wood - who is with US troops outside Falluja and whose reports are subject to military restrictions - says that despite efforts by US forces to select targets carefully, their use of heavy artillery and tanks is bound to lead to civilian casualties.
BBC Arabic Service reporter Fadhil Badrani said the city was in complete darkness, with the rubble still smouldering from the day's artillery bombardment.
Residents say water, as well as electricity, have been cut off.
The assault on Falluja is aimed at stabilising Iraq ahead of January's poll.
The Sunni Muslim city has been a hotbed of resistance to US-led troops following the toppling of Saddam Hussein last year.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...st/3998049.stm
Published: 2004/11/10 01:42:09 GMT
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Also worth reading:
Falluja Assault Q&A - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3993809.stm
Urban warfare tactics - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/h...ml/default.stm
Mr Mephisto |
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