Residents flee Fallujah in panic as clashes return to flashpoint Iraqi city

AFP ^ | 6/24/04

[TexKat]

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AFP) - Hundreds of panicked residents in cars, buses and pick-up trucks flooded out of Fallujah as explosions and gunfire crackled across this flashpoint Iraqi city after insurgents shot down a US helicopter.

The families, fearing a repeat of fierce fighting which claimed hundreds of lives in April, bumped along dirt tracks out of the city after American forces sealed off the main road, halting traffic in both directions.

A series of checkpoints manned by young men toting Kalashnikov rifles and wearing red or black keffiyeh headscarves stopped and searched cars heading toward the southern exit of the city of 500,000 residents.

Some of the checkpoints were also guarded by members of the Fallujah Brigade, the force made up of remnants of Saddam Hussein's former army now patrolling the city after the US marines' withdrawal two months ago.

As military helicopters flew overhead and tanks and armoured cars waited in nearby fields, chaotic scenes played out in the Sunni stronghold which has been targeted by two US air strikes earlier in the week, killing about 40 people according to the Americans.

The US military contends Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a suspected Al-Qaeda mastermind, operates out of the city.

Gangs of insurgents, some as young as 16 and some wearing extra bullet clips on their chests, stood on street corners as confused residents tried to flee or hide.

"It was total chaos inside. Everyone was confused, everyone was running. Everyone was trying to find shelter or get out of the city. It was just like a state of emergency," said a witness.

"You can feel the stress and the danger. You start to shiver because you think at any moment they may shoot you. There were hundreds of insurgents at every corner, at every intersection."

Some people were shouting "Allah-u-Akbar" (God is great), celebrating the downing of the US helicopter on the city's outskirts.

A US military spokesman later said the two pilots had been rescued unharmed after the aircraft made an "emergency landing".

Residents warned each other not to go to the industrial east of the city, saying American snipers had set up positions there. But there were no signs of fighting inside the city itself.

Loudspeakers at mosques later announced a truce had been struck by local notables and the marines.

"Fighters of Fallujah are asked to stop their fighting. The marines are going to start pulling back after an agreement with their commanders," the mosques announced.

On the road to Baghdad, US troops had set up concrete blocks and checkpoints and were checking every car from Fallujah.

[TexKat]

US Abrams tanks take their positions at the main entrance of the flashpoint town of Fallujah, 50kms west of Baghdad, as an Iraqi Police convoy drives out of the town. Hundreds of panicked residents in cars, buses and pick-up trucks flooded out of Fallujah as explosions and gunfire crackled across this flashpoint Iraqi city after insurgents shot down a US helicopter.(AFP/Mauricio Lima)

A Cobra helicopter gunship (L) and UH-1 Huey search for insurgents after a U.S. Marine patrol from the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marine Division was attacked near Falluja June 24, 2004. Falluja was one of several Iraqi cities hit by what appeared to be coordinated attacks. (Bob Strong/Reuters)

A helicopter flies above a road in Fallujah, Iraq, in this image made from television, Thursday, June 24, 2004. Guerilla forces clashed with US forces in the restive Iraqi town 60 km (40 miles) outside of Baghdad Thursday. Amid the fighting, a US Marine helicopter made an emergency landing outside Fallujah. (AP Photo/APTN)

[TexKat]

Ping

[gilliam]

well, it looks like the cops are fleeing anyway.

[pgkdan]

I just wish we'd level the damned place.

[Prime Choice]

This is what happens when you "negotiate" with terrorists like al-Sadr.

Flatten the area. Leave no stone on top of another. Deprive the enemy of sanctuary. How difficult is that to comprehend?

[vbmoneyspender]

i don't think they're fleeing. I think they are joining the terrorists -- with the weapons we provided them.

[My2Cents]

The AFP news service really likes the word "flashpoint," doesn't it.

[rj45mis]

It's time to rout the enemy in Fallujah. Let's stop playing mother may I with these primitives.

[gathersnomoss]

Ok, a simple solution that has been stated here by others needs repeating. Enclose the toilet. Remove all women and children one by one. Search each male that "will come out". Kill those who are armed. Those who do not remove themselves can be killed with a bomb that does not destroy the infrastructure, ie flush.

Kind of like a Roach Motel. We should not continue to let thugs run this city.

[Badeye]

The mistake of not taking al Sadr down, of not taking over Fallujah immediately after the four contractors were killed, butchered, burned and then strung up on the overpasses is coming home to roost.

This is the single biggest mistake we have made since the invasion of Iraq last year. And now we are going to pay a very high price to correct this error in judgement. Not so much in lives lost, althought thats now going to happen. But politically.

I support this President and this Administration. I support the invasion of Iraq. I support the war on terror.

But I said this was a mistake (how we handled Fallujah three months ago) and to date nothing has occured to change my view.

[gathersnomoss]

You are so not 9/10. You forgot your morning bowl of PC, didn't you?

[TexKat]

Armed militants drive through the streets of Fallujah, Iraq, chanting pro-resistance slogans after battles with U.S. forces Thursday June 24, 2004. Militants launched coordinated attacks against police and government buildings across Iraq Thursday, less than a week before the handover of sovereignty. (AP Photo/Abdul-Kadr Saadi)

This image taken from a video posted on an Islamist web site purports to be the beheading of the South Korean hostage, Kim Sun-il killed by militants in Iraq. Kim's body was found by the U.S. military between Baghdad and Fallujah, 22 miles west of the capital, at 5:20 p.m. Iraq time, Tuesday June 22, 2004. (AP Photo/APTN)

[Gator113]

Kill them all!!!!!!!!

[RightWhale]

the city of 500,000 residents

It was 300,000 before the Jihadi Zealots showed up.

[GraniteStateConservative]

A series of checkpoints manned by young men toting Kalashnikov rifles and wearing red or black keffiyeh headscarves stopped and searched cars heading toward the southern exit of the city of 500,000 residents.

Some of the checkpoints were also guarded by members of the Fallujah Brigade, the force made up of remnants of Saddam Hussein's former army now patrolling the city after the US marines' withdrawal two months ago.

Are these guys fer us or agin' us? I can't tell. I think that's a bad sign, right?

[LoudRepublicangirl]

I guess we had given Fallujah time to get it's act together and it failed. Whatever has to happen has to happen. I just pray for the safety of our guys.

[jolie560]

..."people were shouting "Allah-u-Akbar" (God is great), celebrating the downing of the US helicopter on the city's outskirts"...

As, no doubt, are the many thousands of Muslim 'Allahu-s' living throughout the world. Islam had better enjoy these celebrations while they last--the end of Mohammed's reign is about to end. Muslims around the world will all be at risk. It's part of their culture.

[TexKat]

Armed Iraqi insurgents chant pro-resistance slogans after clashing with U.S. forces in Falluja, June 24, 2004. Insurgents killed 75 people on Thursday in a wave of attacks across Iraq aimed at sabotaging the handover to Iraqi rule in six days' time. Guerrillas struck in in Baquba, Falluja, Ramadi, Mosul and Baghdad, wounding more than 250 people in an intensification of a bloody campaign by Iraqi rebels and foreign militants. Three U.S. soldiers were killed. REUTERS/Akram Saleh

An armed Iraqi insurgent stands guard near a burning house during clashes between U.S. forces and armed insurgents, in Falluja, June 24, 2004. Insurgents killed 75 people on Thursday in a wave of attacks across Iraq aimed at sabotaging the handover to Iraqi rule in six days' time. Guerrillas struck in in Baquba, Falluja, Ramadi, Mosul and Baghdad, wounding more than 250 people in an intensification of a bloody campaign by Iraqi rebels and foreign militants. Three U.S. soldiers were killed. REUTERS/Akram Saleh

Iraqi insurgents take position during clashes in Baquba, 60 kms northeast of Baghdad. Insurgents, some believed linked with terror suspect Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, unleashed attacks on four cities across Iraq leaving more than 35 dead including three US soldiers in an apparently coordinated onslaught.(AFP/Ali Yussef)

[Mr. Buzzcut]

If the residents are leaving ... no innocents will be harmed if we raze the city ...

[r9etb]

Are these guys fer us or agin' us? I can't tell. I think that's a bad sign, right?

Fer us, I think. They were searching people going out -- which means they were probably looking for evidence of bad guys.

I think these guys now have a vested interest in stopping the terrorists, as their own positions (and lives) are in jeopardy if the salamikazes get the upper hand.