Last Updated: Monday, 8 November, 2004, 17:37 GMT
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
US attacks Iraq rebel stronghold
Image from TV of a US soldier blindfolding a man after troops entered Falluja hospital, in Iraq
US-led troops seized control of a hospital in the west of the city
US-led forces have begun a full-scale attack on the insurgent stronghold of Falluja in central Iraq.
The move, which had been expected for weeks, came after interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi gave the go-ahead.
The BBC's Paul Wood reports very heavy fighting and the sound of massive explosions as US and Iraqi government troops battle their way into the city.
Satellite image of Falluja
Earlier, they took control of the city's main hospital and two bridges over the Euphrates River.
Falluja is a predominantly Sunni Muslim city that has been a hotbed of resistance to the US-led occupation of Iraq following the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime last year.
Many of its citizens have fled to escape the fighting, but there are still thought to be tens of thousands of civilians in the city.
Massive assault
Thousands of US and Iraqi troops, backed by tanks and aircraft, are attacking two northern areas of Falluja where insurgents are said to be massed.
Ahead of the assault, a massive aerial and artillery bombardment took place.
Our correspondent reports that the initial phase of the operation has seen the clearing of booby-trap bombs on the main routes into the city.
He says a US marine officer has told him that huge 2,000lb bombs have been dropped on insurgent positions from aircraft.
Elite Iraqi government troops are in the forefront of the assault, fighting alongside the Americans, our correspondent adds.
Announcing the decision to launch the assault, Mr Allawi also said a series of emergency measures would come into force.
Falluja came under curfew from 1800 local time (1500 GMT), Baghdad international airport is being closed for 48 hours, and the borders with Syria and Jordan are being sealed, except for the transport of essential supplies.
This, said Mr Allawi, was to prevent the "terrorists" inside Falluja from leaving the country.
Iraqi police vehicle on fire in Baghdad after rocket-propelled grenade attack, 7 November 2004
Violence in Iraq has escalated sharply in recent days
"We have no option but to take necessary measures to protect the Iraqi people from these killers and to liberate the people of Falluja," Mr Allawi said.
"I gave my authority to the multinational forces, Iraqi forces. We are determined to clean Falluja from the terrorists."
Ahead of the attack, armed men in black uniforms were seen taking up positions inside the city.
Two US marines were killed in the area when their bulldozer overturned, but there are no other immediate confirmed reports of casualties.
Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said to be behind the kidnapping and killing of foreigners in Iraq, has urged resistance against the US-led attack and said victory will come "in a matter of days".
Britain, a key US ally, has backed the assault on Falluja.
"The action by allied and Iraqi forces under way in Falluja would cease now, immediately, if the terrorists and insurgents who are using Falluja as a base for terrorism would lay down their weapons and agree to participate in the elections," said Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In other developments:
* In Ramadi, another town where there has been strong resistance to the US-led troops, suicide attackers are reported to have attacked US forces during clashes
* Heavy gunfire is reported in Baghdad during clashes between US troops and insurgents
* A bomb explodes at a Catholic church in the capital, setting the building on fire and reportedly injuring a number of people
* European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana says there is little prospect of Iraq holding national elections in January as planned because of the deteriorating security situation.
Mr Allawi said 38 people were captured, including four foreign fighters, during the Monday morning raid on Falluja's hospital.
On Sunday, he declared a 60-day state of emergency across Iraq in response to the escalation of violence by militants.
EMERGENCY POWERS
Prime Minister has power* to:
Impose curfews
Restrict freedom of movement, assembly and use of weapons
Cordon off and search suspect areas
Freeze assets of suspected insurgents
Conduct military and security operations in suspect areas with the aid of US-led multinational forces
*Under the National Safety Law passed in July
Analysis: Beginning of end?
More than 60 people have died in two days of co-ordinated attacks by insurgents in an apparent response to the US military preparations around Falluja.
The BBC's Quil Lawrence, with US forces near Falluja, said troops with night vision seized the two bridges, which are main routes west out of the city.
One of the bridges was the site of the killing of four US contractors that sparked the first attempt to retake Falluja in April.
Our correspondent says the marines believe Falluja will be their biggest engagement since Hue, the Vietnamese city they captured in 1968, losing 142 men and killing thousands of the enemy.
There are fears that insurgents will unleash suicide attacks on the troops once they have entered Falluja, he adds.
HAVE YOUR SAY
The people of Falluja will suffer regardless if they are militants or civilians
Aristotelis K, Athens Greece
Send us your comments
And the US military has accused insurgents of preventing civilians from leaving the city.
"Residents of Falluja informed multinational forces recently that terrorists in the city are preventing families from leaving Falluja," said a spokesman.
"According to residents, terrorist elements plan to use citizens as human shields then claim they were attacked by multinational forces."
To go back to Frontpage