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FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - On Thursday, a car bomb
exploded near the headquarters of a leading Kurdish
political party in the northern city of Kirkuk,
killing one bystander and injuring four others.
The blast detonated some 100 yards from where the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, is housed,
said Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin, head of the
Iraqi National Guard in the city. It was not
immediately clear what the target was.
U.S. troops, on the verge of gaining control of the
city, fought pockets of resistance in this former
militant stronghold Wednesday and uncovered what the
Iraqi commander said were ``hostage
slaughterhouses'' in which foreign captives had been
killed.
Insurgents sought to open a second front, mounting
attacks outside Fallujah. They also kidnapped three
relatives of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and
reportedly threatened further revenge against the
leader. Militants also claimed to have abducted 20
Iraqi National Guard troops in Fallujah.
Throughout the day, Americans hit the militants with
artillery and mortars, and warplanes fired on the
city's main street and market as well as Jolan, one
of several neighborhoods where troops were
skirmishing with militants.
On Thursday morning, loud explosions still rocked
the city as sounds of gunfire reverberated across
town. Smoke rose above Fallujah as helicopters
hovered overhead. Marines were seen perched on
rooftops.
Airstrikes resumed as U.S. forces continued to pound
the southern part of Fallujah with artillery,
hitting mortar positions and sniper nests of
insurgents who were firing on Marines outside the
city.
In what could be a sign of progress, the Marines
began turning over Jolan to Iraqi forces, signaling
that Marines consider the area relatively secure.
Jolan was considered one of the strongest positions
held by militants inside Fallujah.
Even so, an Associated Press reporter embedded with
them witnessed continued clashes in Jolan and smoke
billowing from the heart of the neighborhood late
Wednesday. Fireballs and tracer fire lit up the
night sky over Fallujah and the sounds of artillery
echoed in the streets.
In one of the most dramatic clashes of the day,
snipers fired on U.S. and Iraqi troops from the
minarets of the Khulafah Al Rashid mosque, the
military said. Marines said the insurgents waved a
white flag at one stage but then opened fire, BBC's
embedded correspondent Paul Wood reported. The
troops called in four precision airstrikes that
destroyed the minarets but left the mosque standing.
Pool footage showed U.S. forces battling insurgents
in a neighborhood surrounding the mosque. Troops
were pinned down by gunfire on a rooftop, forced to
hit the deck and lay on their stomachs.
``We're taking fire from the mosque,'' one of the
Americans said. Forces returned fire, blasting the
mosque - a large domed building flanked by two
minarets - and sending up clouds of debris.
``When they're using a mosque to do command and
control for insurgents and kill my fellow Marines
and soldiers and airmen that are out here - no holds
barred, the gloves are off,'' said Marine Staff Sgt.
Sam Mortimer.
Tank gunners also opened fire on insurgents in a
nearby five-story apartment building, and flames
shot from several windows.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey,
told President Bush on Wednesday that his troops
were ``making very good progress'' securing Iraq.
``He said that things are going well in Fallujah,''
Bush said, adding that his Iraq commanders had not
asked for more troops. The U.S. military has sent up
to 15,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops into the battle,
backed by tanks, artillery and attack aircraft.
Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, the commanding general of
the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said insurgents
had been reduced to ``small pockets, blind, moving
throughout the city. And we will continue to hunt
them down and destroy them.''
``When they attempted to flee from one zone to
another they were killed,'' Sattler said. ``We feel
very comfortable that none of them moved back toward
the north or escaped on the flanks.''
In Fallujah, at least 71 militants have been killed
by early Wednesday, the third day of intense urban
combat, the military said. As of Tuesday night, 10
U.S. troops and two members of the Iraqi security
forces had been killed. Marine reports Wednesday
said 25 American troops and 16 Iraqi soldiers were
wounded. There was no new report Wednesday on U.S.
military deaths.
Al-Jazeera television reported 32 people were killed
and about 50 injured in politically motivated
violence Wednesday throughout Iraq, but it was
unclear if the figures included deaths and injuries
in Fallujah.
Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, is the
centerpiece of the Sunni Muslim insurgency that has
stymied U.S. efforts to secure Iraq and prepare for
national elections that are scheduled for January.
The violence killed at least 28 people across the
country Wednesday - including 10 who died when a car
bomb targeted a police patrol in the capital after
sunset. U.S. troops clashed with insurgents in
Baghdad and the cities of Ramadi, Mosul and
Latifiyah.
``As we put the clamp on Fallujah, we expect
stepped-up attacks elsewhere in the country,'' said
Capt. P.J. Batty, of the 3rd Battalion 5th Marine
Regiment.
``But then we can stop their command and control,''
said the 33-year captain from Park City, Utah.
``Once we see where their fires are coming from, no
problem, we just call in air support or artillery.''
One Marine officer estimated U.S. and Iraqi forces
controlled about 70 percent of the city, but the
commander of the Iraqi force said he believed the
figure was closer to 50 percent.
U.S. troops were also skirmishing with insurgents
late Wednesday in the Wihdah and Muhandiseen
neighborhoods, according to Iraqi journalist Abdul
Qader Saadi, who said he saw some damaged and burnt
armored vehicles and tanks.
Saadi and other witnesses reported bodies on the
streets, with dogs hovering around them. Residents
said they were running out of food in a city that
had its electricity cut two days ago.
Some wounded Iraqis bled to death, and a family was
buried under the ruins of their house after it was
bombed by a U.S. jet, Saadi said.
Most of Fallujah's 200,000 to 300,000 residents are
believed to have fled the city before the U.S.
assault. Civilian casualties in the attack are not
known, though U.S. commanders say they believe the
numbers are low.
Fighters charged from the southern parts of the city
to back up other insurgents heading to the Jumhuriya
district, where there were fierce clashes, he said.
Wihdah, Jumhuriya and Muhandiseen are on the north
side of the road that bisects the city.
The U.S. military and the interim Iraqi government
are eager to put an Iraqi face on the Fallujah
offensive.
Iraqi forces joined U.S. troops in seizing
Fallujah's city hall compound before dawn after a
gunbattle with insurgents who hit U.S. tanks with
anti-armor rockets. Iraqi soldiers swept into a
police station in the compound and raised an Iraqi
flag above it.
The Iraqi commander, Maj. Gen. Abdul Qader Mohammed
Jassem Mohan, announced the seizure of the abandoned
houses in northern Fallujah that he said contained
hostages' documents, CDs showing captives being
killed, and black clothing worn by militants in
videos.
It appeared troops did not find any of the at least
nine foreigners still in kidnappers' hands -
including two Americans. ``We have found hostage
slaughterhouses in Fallujah that were used by these
people,'' he said.
But in a reminder of the relative inexperience of
the Iraqi contingent, Al-Jazeera television
broadcast a videotape Wednesday with a militant
group claiming to have captured 20 Iraqi soldiers.
Men wearing Iraqi uniforms were shown with their
backs to the camera.
Gunmen also kidnapped three of Allawi's relatives
from their Baghdad home - his cousin, Ghazi Allawi,
the cousin's wife and their daughter-in-law,
Allawi's spokesman said. A militant group calling
itself Ansar al-Jihad threatened to behead them in
48 hours unless the Fallujah siege is lifted. The
claim's authenticity could not be verified.
Contributing to this report were Associated Press
writers Jim Krane near Fallujah; and Tini Tran,
Sameer N. Yacoub, Mariam Fam, Sabah Jerges, Katarina
Kratovac and Maggie Michael in Baghdad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004
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