Posted on 11/12/2004 6:45:46 AM PST by TexKat
View from the gunners site in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle as 1st Platoon, Apache Troop, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division entering Fallujah. US marines barged house-by-house through Fallujah finding anything from corpses and weapons to hostages as they battled to secure the rebel enclave after seizing almost total control.(AFP/US Army/Johancharles Van Boers)
US Marines capture Iraqi men in the center of Fallujah, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Hundreds of men trying to flee the assault on Fallujah have been turned back by U.S. troops following orders to allow only women, children and the elderly to leave. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
By EDWARD HARRIS, Associated Press Writer
FALLUJAH, Iraq - American forces pushed deeper into the southern reaches of Fallujah, cornering militants backed into smaller pockets of the city. Hundreds of men trying to flee were turned back by U.S. troops.
In Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, guerrillas launched mass attacks against police stations and political party offices in what could be a bid to relieve pressure on their allies here.
On Friday, Army and Marine units moved to tighten their security cordon around the beseiged city, backed by FA-18s and AC-130 gunships.
Some three to four dozen militants tried to break out towards the south and east late Thursday but were repelled by U.S. troops, the military said.
U.S. forces were also positioned to the west near key bridges, blocking rebels from crossing the Euphrates River with patrol boats.
Troops have cut off all roads and bridges leading out of the city and have turned back hundreds of men who have tried to flee the city during the assault. Only women, children and the elderly are being allowed to leave.
The military says keeping men aged 15 to 55 from leaving is key to the mission's success.
"If they're not carrying a weapon, you can't tell who's who," said one officer with the 1st Cavalry Division.
A U.S. soldier was killed Thursday night when his tank rolled over near Fallujah, the military said.
Another American soldier was killed in northern Mosul during "combat operations" there Thursday, the military said.
In Iraq's third-largest city, guerrillas assaulted nine police stations on Thursday, overwhelming several, and battled U.S. and Iraqi troops around bridges across the Tigris River in the city, where a curfew had been imposed a day earlier.
In Baghdad Friday, Iraqi security forces, backed by U.S. troops, arrested a hardline Sunni cleric and about two dozen others after a raid of his Baghdad mosque uncovered weapons caches along with photographs of recent attacks on American troops, the U.S. military and the Iraqi National Guard said.
Sheik Mahdi al-Sumaidaei, the head of the Supreme Association for Guidance and Daawa, a conservative Sunni organization, was detained Thursday, along with 25 others, the U.S. military said.
A car bomb in the capital Thursday exploded Thursday moments after a U.S. patrol passed on Saadoun Street, killing 17 bystanders and wounding 30.
The four-day Fallujah offensive has killed some 600 insurgents, 18 U.S. troops and five Iraqi soldiers, the U.S. military said. An additional 178 Americans and 34 Iraqi soldiers have been injured, the military said.
Overnight, U.S. troops launched another mass offensvie south of the main east-west highway that bisects Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim insurgent stronghold 40 miles west of Baghdad.
An Iraqi journalist in the city reported seeing burned U.S. vehicles and bodies in the street, with more buried under the wreckage. He said two men trying to move a corpse were shot down by a sniper.
Two of the three small clinics in the city have been bombed, and in one case, medical staff and patients were killed, he said. A U.S. tank was positioned beside the third clinic, and residents were afraid to go there, he said.
"People are afraid of even looking out the window because of snipers," he said, asking that he not be named for his own safety. "The Americans are shooting anything that moves."
Many, if not most, of Fallujah's 200,000 to 300,000 residents fled the city before the assault. It is impossible to determine how many civilians who were not actively fighting the Americans or assisting the insurgents may have been killed.
Commanders said they believe 1,200 to 3,000 fighters were in Fallujah before the offensive.
Most of the insurgents still fighting in Fallujah are believed to have fallen back to southern districts ahead of the advancing U.S. and Iraqi forces, although fierce clashes were reported in the west of the city around the public market.
Meanwhile, two Marine Super Cobra attack helicopters were hit by ground fire and forced to land in separate incidents near Fallujah, the military said. The four pilots were rescued, though one suffered slight injuries.
At a U.S. camp outside Fallujah, Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of the 1st Marine Division, said the operation was running "ahead of schedule" but he would not predict how many days of fighting lay ahead.
He said militants have been using mosques as military strong-points.
"In almost ever single mosque in Fallujah, we have found an arms cache," he said. "We have found IED-making (bomb-making) factories. We have found fortifications. We've been shot at by snipers from minarets."
Natonski also said he had visited a "slaughterhouse" in the northern Jolan neighborhood where hostages were held and possibly killed by militants. He described a small room with no windows and just one door. He said he saw two thin mattresses, straw mats covered in blood and a wheelchair that apparently was used to transport captives.
Also, a Fox News reporter embedded with India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment said the unit found five bodies in a locked house in northwest Fallujah on Wednesday. All the victims were shot in the back of the head. Their identities were not known, although there were indications they were civilians, the report said.
Late Thursday, Marines found the Syrian driver captured with two French journalists in August inside an undisclosed location in Fallujah. Capt. Ed Bitanga said the man told military officials he had been separated from the journalists about a month ago.
On Aug. 20, Christian Chesnot, 37, with Radio France Internationle, and Georges Malbrunot, 41, with Le Figaro, disappeared along with their Syrian driver Mohammed al-Joundi on a trip to the holy city of Najaf. A militant group calling itself "the Islamic Army in Iraq" claimed responsiblity, demanding that France revoke a new law banning Islamic head scarves from state schools.
U.S. officials believe the al-Qaida-linked terror movement of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who claimed responsibility for many of the kidnappings and beheadings of foreign hostages, used Fallujah as a base. They said they believe al-Zarqawi may have slipped away before the offensive.
Last April, Fallujah militants fought Marines to a standstill during a three-week siege, which the Bush administration called off amid public criticism over civilian casualties.
The current offensive was begun so the government can hold national elections in January, although Sunni clerics have called a boycott to protest the Fallujah operation.
This offensive has gone swiftly, in part because of a larger ground force and massive use of air and artillery.
However, a steady stream of wounded being flown to the U.S. military's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany suggests that fighting in some parts of Fallujah has been intense.
Hospital staff were expanding bed capacity as 102 wounded U.S. service members were flown in Thursday — up from the usual 30 to 50 a day the U.S. military hospital receives, officials said. A day earlier, 69 wounded were brought in.
Military officials cautioned that the figure of 600 insurgents killed in Fallujah was only a rough estimate and that many died in air and artillery bombardments ahead of the ground advance.
___
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.
Good hunting, Troops! Stay safe!
Thanks for setting this up. It's great to keep these threads going.
Fallujah control in US grasp
Michael Georgy in Fallujah
13nov04
US led forces have gained control of most of Fallujah and insurgents are trapped in the southern part of the Iraqi city, marine officers said yesterday.
"They can't go north because that's where we are. They can't go west because of the Euphrates River and they can't go east because we have a huge presence there. So they are cornered in the south," Master Sergeant Roy Meek said.
"And if they try to leave the south we will be waiting for them."
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,11366036%255E954,00.html
Arafat is in the ground and soon the terrorist swarm in Fallujah will be defeated.
A Syrian driver Mohammed al-Joundi, shows how he was handcuffed after being freed by US Marines early morning in the center of Fallujah, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. The U.S. military confirmed Friday a hostage found in Fallujah is Mohammed al-Joundu the Syrian driver abducted with two French journalists in August. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
US Marines lead away a captured Iraqi man in the center of Fallujah, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Trooping past dead bodies and abandoned weapons, U.S. Marines fighting their way through Iraq's rebel-infested Fallujah are blasting their way through walls and hammering open doors seeking fighters and guns in the dayslong battle against Sunni Muslim insurgents. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
US Marines try to push into the center of Fallujah, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Trooping past dead bodies and abandoned weapons, U.S. Marines fighting their way through Iraq's rebel-infested Fallujah are blasting their way through walls and hammering open doors seeking fighters and guns in the dayslong battle against Sunni Muslim insurgents. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
US Marines move toward the center of Fallujah, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. On Friday, Army and Marine units moved to tighten their security cordon around the beseiged city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
An Iraqi family who tried to flee fighting in the center of Fallujah, Iraq, shelter next to a wall, as U.S. Marines look on Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Hundreds of men trying to flee the assault on Fallujah have been turned back by U.S. troops following orders to allow only women, children and the elderly to leave. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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An Iraqi family who tried to flee fighting in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), shelter next to a wall, as U.S. Marines look on Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Hundreds of men trying to flee the assault on Fallujah have been turned back by U.S. troops following orders to allow only women, children and the elderly to leave. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) |
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A Syrian driver Mohammed al-Joundi, shows how he was handcuffed after being freed by US Marines early morning in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. The U.S. military confirmed Friday a hostage found in Fallujah is Mohammed al-Joundu the Syrian driver abducted with two French journalists in August. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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US Marines of the fifth division arrest Iraqi men in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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An Iraqi woman gestures as she tries to flee the fighting in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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A US Marines leads a captured Iraqi in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Hundreds of men trying to flee the assault on Fallujah have been turned back by U.S. troops following orders to allow only women, children and the elderly to leave. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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A US Marine leads a way a captured Iraqi man in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Trooping past dead bodies and abandoned weapons, U.S. Marines fighting their way through Iraq's rebel-infested Fallujah are blasting their way through walls and hammering open doors seeking fighters and guns in the dayslong battle against Sunni Muslim insurgents. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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A US Marine uses his foot search for ammunition near the bodies of dead Iraqi fighters in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Trooping past dead bodies and abandoned weapons, U.S. Marines fighting their way through Iraq's rebel-infested Fallujah are blasting their way through walls and hammering open doors seeking fighters and guns in the dayslong battle against Sunni Muslim insurgents. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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US Marines lead away a captured Iraqi man in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Trooping past dead bodies and abandoned weapons, U.S. Marines fighting their way through Iraq's rebel-infested Fallujah are blasting their way through walls and hammering open doors seeking fighters and guns in the dayslong battle against Sunni Muslim insurgents. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) |
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US Marines of the fifth division arrest an Iraqi man in the center of Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) |
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Im so proud of these Marines, they finally get to do the job so many were afraid to do before.
I get steamed whenever I hear this lie repeated. The politicians fought the Marines to a standstill. The militants got severely downsized.
for crying out loud, MSM, the campaign is over, you can stop your kerrymandering the facts in these stories.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1278293/posts
Terrorist Masterming Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi Releases New Audio Tape
TrackingTerrorism.com ^
Yeah, well, that's what harboring terrorists will do to you. Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.
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Members of Charlie Company of the First Marine Division, 6th Regiment, regroup inside the Khulafah Rashid Mosque in Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), only hours after taking it Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004. Routed insurgents soon regrouped and rained heavy fire on the mosque, prompting the Marines to leave.(AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Luis Sinco) , NO SALES, NO FOREIGN, NO MAGS, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT, OC REGISTER OUT, VENTURA COUNTY STAR OUT, INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT, SAN BERNARDINO SUN OUT |
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By Hannah Allam and Yasser Salihee Knight Ridder/Tribune news
American troops raided the homes and offices of two prominent Sunni Muslim clerics Thursday after both made fiery public speeches condemning the U.S.-led offensive in Fallujah and voicing their support for insurgents.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government warned news organizations covering operations in Fallujah to distinguish between insurgents and ordinary civilians, and promote the leadership's position or face unspecified action, The Associated Press reported.
Harith al-Dhari, who heads the influential Association of Muslim Scholars, which represents as many as 3,000 of Iraq's Sunni mosques, said American and Iraqi forces burst into his home on Baghdad's outskirts after shouting through loudspeakers to send women to safe rooms or "face the consequences."
Al-Dhari's son, Muthana al-Dhari, told Al Jazeera television that the troops confiscated cell phones and personal weapons in the dawn raid. His father was questioned briefly.
Harith al-Dhari has emerged as one of the most vehement critics of the U.S.-led military presence in Iraq and is well-known for anti-American diatribes that typically stop just short of advocating violence.
Since the Fallujah offensive began, however, al-Dhari has deemed Iraqi security forces cooperating with Americans as legitimate targets for attack. Earlier this week, he issued a religious edict ordering Iraqis to boycott January's elections to protest the Fallujah assault.
Later in the day, U.S. and Iraqi troops targeted another outspoken cleric, arresting Sheik Mahdi al-Sumaydai, his top aide and others during a raid of Ibn Taymiyah mosque in Baghdad.
Earlier Thursday, al-Sumaydai had lambasted Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's highest-ranking Shiite cleric, for not condemning the American-led offensive in Fallujah.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, al-Sumaydai reminded Shiites that Sunni groups had spoken up in August when U.S. and Iraqi forces massed outside a shrine in a standoff with insurgents in Najaf, the southern Shiite holy city.
"We reproach Sistani for not officially taking a position on the offensive, and we call on him to do so," al-Sumaydai said.
The raids came as Iraq's Media High Commission sent a statement to news organization citing the 60-day state of emergency declared Sunday on the eve of the offensive in Fallujah, AP reported.
"You must be precise and objective in handling news and information," the statement said.
It emphasized the necessity of differentiating between "innocent citizens of Fallujah who are not targeted by the military operations and between the terrorist groups who infiltrated the city and took its people hostage under the pretext of resistance and jihad."
It also told news organizations to tell their correspondents "to be credible and precise" and not to "add patriotic descriptions to groups of killers and criminals."
Finally, the commission told news organizations to provide space to explain "the government position, expressing the ambition of most of the Iraqi people" and underscore that "these military operations did not come about until all peaceful means were attempted" to avoid violence.
It said not following instructions will require authorities to "take all necessary measures to safeguard the supreme interest of the homeland." No more details were given.
You ever notice how celebrities seem to die in threes?
Well, if this applies to terrorists my dream trifecta is Arafat, Saddam, and al Zarkowi.
Hoping ...but he's still ticking..released an audio tape..
The terrorist are probably pissing in their pants wondering what the Marines left behind in the mosque
The tape said signs of "victory are on the horizon".
I bet the Fallujah terrorists who are geting decimated there would disagree.
MACHINE TRANSLATION
Bsm Allah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem
The praise of a supporter Allah benevolent .... The conqueror of the apostates and the unbelievers ..... And the prayer and the greeting on the cheerful the fight ..... And on its family and his friends the others ...As for after :
In such circumstances the one that your fighting brothers pass by the heroes in Mesopotamia in general and in Al-Faloga city especially from the tyranny of the unbelievers and the conspiracy of the apostates and the procrastination of the Muslims generality ... The brave leader Abu Mus'ab Alzrqawy that the creatures Lord kept by urgent word with short letters overlooks us the major sin of meanings and indications ....
And we like that we declare to the nation ... This word considers an introduction commented in it the sheikh on the current events that a word will follow the leader stands by it standing behind these grave events and turns away in it that the Al-Qaeda Network strategy Allah kept in the close future .... And the guide Allah is to the right path .
And to you O the sons of our nation the speech text ...
Either different translating equipment is needed or Zarqawi is so nervous hes rambling.
Would someone like to express in English what that nutjob jihadist means.
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Fire and smoke pour from a car in the Abu Ghraib section of Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, Nov. 12, 2004. Witnesses reported that U.S. troops opened fire on the car, causing the fire and killing the driver after the car charged toward a U.S. military roadblock. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi) |
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