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FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes pounded
Falluja on Monday as ground forces battled
guerrillas on the outskirts of the rebel-held city
that American and Iraqi forces were poised to storm.
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, declaring a 60-day state
of martial law on Sunday to rein in an insurgency
that threatens planned nationwide elections in
January, said a move to retake Falluja could not be
delayed much longer.
An AC-130 gunship struck Falluja with cannon fire
and machineguns as U.S. forces massed on two sides
of the city where the U.S. military says 1,000 to
6,000 fighters -- Saddam Hussein supporters and
foreign Islamic militants led by Jordanian al Qaeda
ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- are holed up.
The Iraqi 36th Command Battalion seized the main
hospital in Falluja, blindfolding a number of people
and kicking down doors but not firing a shot.
Later, fighting erupted in Falluja and exchanges of
gunfire were heard for about 20 minutes from U.S.
positions near the Sunni Muslim city, some 50 km (30
miles) west of Baghdad, said a Reuters witness.
A U.S. Marine tank company and infantry unit moved
to a staging area near Falluja as U.S. forces said
they only awaited word from Allawi, who heads a
U.S.-backed Iraqi interim government, to begin an
assault.
"He still hopes that it may be possible to avoid a
major military confrontation in Falluja ... He is,
however, not optimistic," said Allawi spokesman
Thair al-Naqib.
HEAVY FIGHTING
Earlier, witnesses said there was heavy fighting on
the eastern and western fringes of the city,
including around a bridge over the Euphrates.
Guerrillas in other Iraqi cities and towns have
stepped up attacks to show their muscle.
Police said gunmen killed 22 policemen in three
attacks on Sunday. The bloodiest was on the
Haqlaniya post near Haditha, 200 km (125 miles)
northwest of Baghdad, where insurgents lined nine
policemen against a wall and shot them, witnesses
said.
A group led by Zarqawi claimed responsibility for
the attack, according to a statement posted on a Web
site often used by Islamists.
Allawi declared the state of emergency across Iraq,
except the region of Kurdistan, to ensure security
before the Jan. 27 elections President Bush says
will be a cornerstone in building a democratic Iraq.
"(The martial law decree) will send a very powerful
message that we are serious," Allawi told reporters.
"We want to secure the country so elections can be
done in a peaceful way."
Giving itself power to declare emergency rule,
equivalent to martial law, was one of the first
things the government did after replacing a U.S.-led
occupation administration on June 28. But this is
the first time it has used the power.
Allawi did not say how he would use the new powers,
but emergency rule gives the government the right to
impose curfews, set up checkpoints, and search and
detain suspects.
Moments after the announcement, a car bomb exploded
near the house of Finance Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi
in Baghdad's Karrada district, killing a policeman
and a ministerial bodyguard. Abdul Mahdi was not
hurt.
Insurgents also kept up attacks on U.S.-led forces
and Iraqis working for them.
An American soldier was killed and another wounded
when their convoy was attacked west of Baghdad and a
car bomb killed another U.S. soldier and wounded
four in western Baghdad.
A suicide bomber drove into a U.S. convoy on the
Baghdad airport road in an attack also claimed by
Zarqawi's group.
The bodies of three Iraqi translators for U.S.
forces were found in Tikrit, north of Baghdad,
police said.
(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Terry
Friel and Lin Noueihed in Baghdad, Fadel al-Badrani
in Falluja, Sabah al-Bazee in Samarra, and Dubai
bureau)
REUTERS
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