US Marines punched to the heart of Fallujah yesterday after fierce fighting with guerrillas in Iraq's most rebellious city, a US military source said.
The source gave no details about the advance to the center, the furthest US forces have penetrated in the Sunni Muslim city west of Baghdad in seven months.
PHOTO: AP
A total of 14 Americans have been killed in the past two days across Iraq -- including five in an around Fallujah and nine others killed as guerrillas launched a wave of attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere.
A senior Pentagon official said yesterday the nine were killed Monday southwest of Fallujah and in the capital.
Residents confirmed US-led forces were near the middle of Fallujah. Terrified civilians stayed at home, nerves stretched by the crash of bombs.
As battles raged in Fallujah, insurgents hit back elsewhere with bloody attacks in Baqubah and other cities, in which some 60 people have been killed since Monday night.
A US Marine tank company commander -- part of a US-led force at least 10,000 strong -- said guerrillas were battling hard in Fallujah's northern Jolan district.
"They are putting up a strong fight and I saw many of them on the street I was on," Marine Captain Robert Bodisch said.
A thunderous explosion shook northern Fallujah, witnesses said. Black smoke billowed from the scene.
"There are heavy air strikes everywhere and heavy clashes in the Jolan district," one resident said.
Many families fled the city of 300,000 to escape air raids before the offensive. It is not clear how many remain.
Residents said they had no power and used kerosene lamps at night. They kept to ground floors for safety. Telephones were erratic. Even food shops had been closed for six days.
"My men have reached their designated area 1km inside Fallujah on foot and have liberated one neighborhood," said a senior Iraqi army officer.
Iraqi troops brought nine handcuffed prisoners to a railway station on the northern edge of the Jolan area where US and Iraqi forces are based. They said two of them were Egyptians and one was Syrian. The rest were Iraqis.
The interim Iraqi government and its US backers say foreign Muslim militants led by al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are holed up in Fallujah along with Iraqi rebels.
Doctors said at least 15 civilians were killed in Monday's fighting.
The offensive launched after dark on Monday was the second assault in seven months to try to pacify the rebel stronghold.
After a day of air strikes, shelling and tank fire, US troops launched the ground assault two hours after sundown, when Muslims break their daily fast in the month of Ramadan.
Fighters trying to show their muscle after the Fallujah assault bombed two churches, a hospital and other targets in Baghdad, killing 11 people on Monday night.
They also struck at British troops south of the capital, killing a soldier and wounding two with a roadside bomb.
In other news, a curfew will be imposed on Baghdad and surrounding areas from 10:30pm to 4am until further notice, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS