Falluja Engulfed in Fighting

Fierce street battles are raging in Falluja between resistance fighters defending the town and US occupation forces, who are launching missile attacks in and around residential areas.

Hospital sources say at least 52 Iraqis have died in attacks since Tuesday in the besieged town which American forces sealed off on Sunday, reported Aljazeera's correspondent Ahmad Mansur. More than 100 others, including children, have been injured.

Twenty-six of those killed were from one family...
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A73529F1-1554-4C68-8774-BA478D565B02.htm

Still no hard US casualty #'s from there, though...

In German:
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,294398,00.html

In einem Stadtviertel sollen die Leichen von zehn amerikanischen Soldaten auf der Straße liegen. Die US-Armee hat das bisher nicht bestätigt. Ein anderer Augenzeuge will in der Nähe von Falludscha den Absturz eines US-Armeehelikopters beobachtet haben. Ärzte in Falludscha sagten, rund hundert Verletzte seien ins Krankenhaus gebracht worden. In Moscheen der Stadt wurde zum Heiligen Krieg aufgerufen.

In a borough the corpses of ten American soldiers are to lie on the road. The US army did not confirm that so far. Another eye-witness wants to have observed the crash of a US army helicopter in the proximity of Falludscha. Physicians in Falludscha said, approximately hundreds hurt in the hospital were brought. In mosques of the city to the holy war one called.

http://translate.google.com/translate_t

Die US-Armee hat die Stadt Falludscha, die als Hochburg der Aufständischen gilt, von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Die 300.000 Einwohner sind eingekesselt. In der vergangenen Nacht lieferten sich Marineinfanteristen und bewaffnete Kämpfer im Osten der Stadt heftige Auseinandersetzungen, sagten Augenzeugen. Die Amerikaner griffen mehrere Ziele aus der Luft an. 60 Iraker sollen dabei ums Leben gekommen sein, berichten Augenzeugen. Allein 25 sollen zu einer Großfamilie gehören, deren Haus von einer Rakete getroffen wurde.

"The US Army has cut off the city of Falluja, considered the center of the resistance, from the outside world. Its 300,000 residents are encircled. Throughout last night, eyewitnesses said that Marine infantry and armed fighters violently confronted each other in the eastern part of the city. The Americans attacked multiple targets from the air. Eyewitnesses state that 60 Iraqis were killed in these attacks. 25 members of a single family were reported killed when their house was struck by a rocket."

More like flowers at our headstones.

Fucking PNAC idiots.

Let them go and "pacify" Fallujah. After all if everything is just gravy then surely a quick chat will sort things out.

...surround a town, seal it off, then kick the crap out of the inhabitants regardless of combatant status. When will bulldoze the remains of Fallujah?

The concept of winning friends and influencing enemies left Washington DC in January 2001 with Bill Clinton.

this is I/P II once we start killing children with helicopters there will be no peace. Killing is all our government knows.

After all, their defense minister (Mofaz) actually gave an order to "kill, not just to occupy" when invading Palestinian cities like Jenin and Nablus back in 2002.

The intention was to "make sure that any clash with wanted persons and terror groups would end with corpses ... lying around" ¹

I'm not sure Rummy has gone that far yet, but give it time :eyes:

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1. See Amir Oren, Ha'aretz, 26 March 2004. The quotes cited are from the Hebrew edition only.

Does that phrase sound familiar?

He wasn't there.

Nothing like being condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past...

n/t

They HAVE to put this down NOW or it will become unmanageable, but it ain't gonna easy and it ain't gonna be pretty.

"US marines tried for a third time to take control of the town but were forced to retreat."