Fallouja Residents Brace for Assault by Marines

U.S. Marines engaged in sporadic gunfights with insurgents Monday after surrounding this restive city, as residents braced for an expected incursion by the hundreds of troops poised on the outskirts of town.

Gun battles erupted in the city about 10:30 p.m., followed by repeated mortar attacks by insurgents on U.S. positions along a highway west of the city. Marines responded with AC-130 gunships, firing cannons at insurgent positions. Residents reported that at least six people were seriously wounded.

“No one is sleeping in Fallouja tonight,” Ibrahim Zobai, a local tribesman, said in a telephone interview from his home as gunfire and mortar blasts could be heard in the background.

Earlier in the day, five people were killed in the city when Marines ordered airstrikes against homes believed to be used by insurgents, witnesses said. One Marine has been killed by gunfire and four have been wounded in a mortar attack since 2,500 Marines surrounded Fallouja late Sunday.

All roads in and out of the city have been closed. Travel on the main highway connecting Baghdad and the Jordanian border also was blocked indefinitely, according to a statement from U.S. officials in Baghdad.

Marine commanders vowed to pacify Fallouja last week after four American security contractors were ambushed and killed in the city and their bodies were burned and mutilated by a mob of cheering Iraqis.

Military officials would not discuss when they planned to move large numbers of troops into the city of 300,000, about 30 miles west of Baghdad.

“We’re going to fight the enemy on our own terms, and when we fight them, we’re going to kill them,” said Lt. Col. Gregg Olson, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, First Regiment.

The Camp Pendleton-based Marines spent Monday launching psychological operations aimed at intimidating the population and encouraging residents to cooperate with U.S. forces. A curfew of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. was imposed.

The Marines made small forays into Fallouja, primarily to distribute leaflets and to broadcast announcements urging residents to hand over those who killed the four Americans.

Overnight, the Marines made a few arrests in raids in the city looking for specific suspected insurgents. Members of the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment reported a lengthy gun battle with insurgents but suffered no casualties.

Olson met Monday with Fallouja’s mayor and members of the city council. The mayor was instrumental in recovering the contractors’ bodies last week. The meeting was held at a Marine base outside the city because the last time Marine officers made an attempt to meet in Fallouja, they came under heavy fire.

The meeting appeared to be a last-ditch effort to get city officials to turn over the culprits rather than face the Marines’ firepower.

“We told the mayor that we expect them to work together with us and the Iraqi Civilian Defense Corps to put together a decent solution,” Olson said.

“They seem to desire cooperation and seem to be ready to help rid the city of the evildoers. It’s rapidly becoming evident that they have to choose sides. Either they can choose the ICDC or continue to side with the terrorists. I would call it a hopeful meeting.”

Marines also reported a flood of tips from residents.

“We have been overwhelmed with targets that people in Fallouja are giving us,” Maj. J.R. Clearfield said.

But some residents continued to warn that Americans would face resistance if they entered the city.

“People are holding rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, and they are prepared to use them if Americans enter their neighborhoods,” said Qais Halawi, a local sheik.

Iraqi police, who had been visible around the city Sunday, were rarely seen Monday. Most residents were afraid to leave their homes, but kept abreast of developments by telephone.

Although Fallouja is a Sunni Muslim stronghold, a number of residents praised the weekend clashes in central and southern Iraq between coalition forces and supporters of a radical Shiite cleric, Muqtader Sadr.

Fighting with Sadr’s militia Sunday left eight American soldiers dead, and near the southern city of Najaf, a Salvadoran member of the U.S.-led military coalition was slain in a clash with Sadr supporters.

“We are ready to stand with Sadr against the Americans because they are occupiers,” said Abdulla Kubaisi, a city leader. “Our elderly people are suffering because they can’t leave their homes.”

*

Perry reported from Fallouja and Sanders from Baghdad. Special correspondents Hamid Sulaibi in Fallouja and Salar Jaff in Baghdad contributed to this report.

--- UNPUBLISHED NOTE ---

In stories after April 9, 2004, Shiite cleric Muqtader Sadr is correctly referred to as Muqtada Sadr.

--- END NOTE ---