6,500 American G.I.'s and 2,000 Iraqis on Attack

[cato2]

A marine took cover in a ditch on Monday as American forces came under heavy fire in Falluja. A Bradley fighting vehicle patrolled nearby.

By DEXTER FILKINS and JAMES GLANZ

Published: November 9, 2004



ALLUJA, Iraq, Tuesday, Nov. 9 - Thousands of American marines and soldiers swarmed over a railroad embankment on the northern edge of Falluja on Monday night and early Tuesday, setting off a wild firefight and making their first advances across the deadly streets and twisting alleyways of this rebel-held city.

The move, following weeks of bombings by American airplanes, marked the beginning of the main assault on Falluja, expected to be the most significant battle since the fall of Baghdad 19 months ago.

Most of the 6,500 American troops and 2,000 Iraqi soldiers went over the embankment at six separate points, military officials said, aiming to clear out insurgents one house at a time and eventually take several large public buildings in the heart of the city.

The drive into Falluja's downtown came after the interim Iraqi prime minister, Ayad Allawi, gave formal authority to the American-led troops to start the assault. American and Iraqi officials have said elections planned for the end of January would be imperiled if Falluja and other cities in the Sunni Muslim heartland remained in the hands of the rebels.

The invasion is a calculated risk by the Americans, who had to withdraw during a previous fight for the city in April after unconfirmed reports of heavy civilian casualties sparked outrage among both Sunni and Shiite Iraqis. But they and the Iraqis say they have no choice but to try again to reclaim the city, which has been controlled by the insurgents since early May.

"They'll try to pull us into the city," said Col. Craig Tucker, a marine who was in charge of a major unit called a regimental combat team. "They'll win if it's bloody; we'll win if we minimize civilian casualties."

Hundreds or thousands of insurgents met the American attack, sometimes contesting every inch of the advance and sometimes melting back into the darkened houses of the city they have held for more than six months.

Fire from rockets, mortars and assault rifles would lash out at the Americans from seemingly deserted buildings until heavy return fire destroyed them one by one, leaving only smoking ruins. Then the firing would start from another direction.

Amid the blasts and roar of the battle, loudspeakers at mosques throughout the city were blaring, "Prepare for jihad!" and "God is great!" American commanders appeared to avoid striking the mosques.

The number of insurgents in the city is estimated at 3,000, although some guerrillas, terrorist fighters and their leaders escaped the city before the attack. American military officials estimated that of a usual population of 300,000, 70 percent to 90 percent of civilians had fled.

In the Askari and Jeghaifi neighborhoods in the northeastern part of the city, American troops were already seen in the streets by around 8 p.m. Monday, said an insurgent who identified himself as Abu Mustafa in a telephone conversation. He said insurgent forces were staying fluid, moving around the city to reinforce spots as they were attacked by the Americans.

By 1 a.m. Tuesday, American troops assigned to those same northeastern neighborhoods had advanced the farthest in the operation - about 800 yards into the city, military officials said. But some of the units farther to the west, under heavy fire and picking their way through abandoned vehicles, rubble and barbed wire, took hours to advance past a single line of houses. Later in the morning, other units continued to advance closer to the center of the city.

Seven members of the invading force were reported wounded: four were hurt when their vehicle flipped over, and three more when a mortar shell landed near them. Two marines drowned when the bulldozer they were driving next to the Euphrates River overturned Monday afternoon.

About 2,000 members of Iraqi security forces are fighting with the Americans, and it was too early to assess how well they were performing. Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top American commander in Iraq, said he anticipated that they would do well, but he acknowledged that some of the Iraqis - how many is uncertain - had failed to show up for the operation.

"Some of these soldiers were on leave and just failed to return, but it did not have a significant impact on our plan," he said.



An American helicopter and Humvees on the northern outskirts of Falluja on Monday.



Marines secured this bridge over the Euphrates River outside of Falluja. The bridge is the same one where the bodies of four burned and mutilated private security contractors were hanged on March 31.



United States forces fired on insurgents in Falluja from across the river.



American commanders expected a brutal, block-by-block battle.



An American Special Forces soldier, left, with two marines, took aim on Monday at enemy positions from a roof in Falluja soon after an airstrike.



After the American forces left the roof, it was hit with mortar fire. No one was injured.



Marine commanders have warned that the new offensive could bring the heaviest urban fighting since Vietnam.



The battle for Falluja could prove the most important since the American invasion of Iraq 19 months ago.

[AT3Weins]

I sure hope this ends quick with a minimal loss of US and Iraqi troops.

[Bluehawk]

May they all come home safe, and may they be victorious.

Operation "Phantom Fury"...

[las47032]

Keeping all of them in my prayers, and to their loved ones while they are away. God Speed to them, and their safe return.