[Shadow_Group] FALLUJAH: U.S. bombards Iraqi city

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

FALLUJAH:
U.S. bombards Iraqi city
By MATTHEW McALLESTER 
News Day

FROM:
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=46596<http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=46596>
NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - American jets and artillery
batteries launched attacks on the insurgent-held city
of Fallujah on Thursday, hitting targets in the run-up
to what could be a major assault on the
Sunni-dominated town.

About 30 miles to the south, rebels killed three
British soldiers who were part of a battle group sent
north last week to free up American troops for the
possible battle. Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision
to redeploy the soldiers to a more dangerous part of
Iraq was already unpopular; the soldiers' deaths are
likely to increase criticism of the beleaguered
British leader.

Meanwhile, American and Iraqi government forces
continued to prepare outside the city for what could
be the largest battle in the war since the invasion
last year. A senior U.S. intelligence officer last
night said that American forces have observed rebels
making their own preparations, digging fortifications
in the city and forming fighting groups of about 20
men. The officer, Maj. Jim West of the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force, said the greatest threat in the
city came from the foreign fighters who have come to
Fallujah to prove their commitment to jihad and gain
influence in their hometowns or villages.


A convoy of American armored vehicles heads for
Fallujah, Iraq, Thursday. U.S. jets were in action
again late Wednesday in Fallujah, to strike insurgent
targets in the northeastern and southern parts of the
city where American forces are said to be gearing up
for a major assault.(AP)

What the U.S. military does not pretend to know,
however, is either how many insurgents there are in
the city or how many foreigners make up their number.

"It's really difficult to say," West said. "They come
and go at will. One day there might be a lot more than
another. They're looking to take their war stories
back home."

West said the military has not sealed off the city,
even for men of fighting age, and so insurgents may be
moving out of Fallujah before a battle without being
intercepted.

He said he had indications that Jordanian-born
militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may be moving in and
out of Fallujah. Zarqawi's group is believed by
American forces here to be responsible for many
kidnappings, at least six beheadings, and numerous
attacks on American and Iraqi government forces.

If the battle were to begin, he said, the military
would seal off the roads leading from the city in
order to prevent insurgents from escaping. But it
would be impossible to seal it completely, he said.

"You can't contain people," he said. "It's an open
desert out there."

Assuming an American victory, the power vacuum in the
city will be filled by new Iraqi leaders, West said.
"The IIG (Interim Iraqi Government) is establishing a
government to take over Fallujah," he said.

There was fighting Thursday between Marines and
insurgents in the nearby town of Ramadi, the U.S.
military said.



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