Clashes Flare in Fallouja

U.S. Marines backed by warplanes and tanks battled insurgents Thursday in the heaviest fighting here in weeks, as nearly 1,000 residents returned for the first time since last month’s American-led assault on the city.

At least three Marines were killed.

In the center of Fallouja, F-18s dropped several bombs, sending up plumes of smoke. Tank and machine-gun fire could be heard to the south, and howitzers at Camp Fallouja, southeast of the city, boomed throughout the day. The guns fired illumination rounds after dark to help Marines on the ground spot attackers.

The military would not give specific figures for casualties, saying only that the three Marines were killed Thursday in Al Anbar province, which includes Fallouja.

But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the three deaths occurred in the city.

In Baghdad, a soldier was killed by a roadside bomb. More than 1,315 U.S. troops have died since the war began in March 2003.

While the Fallouja fighting raged, hundreds of residents spent hours lined up at a checkpoint northwest of the city, one of four entry points where people had to prove they lived in the Andalus district, a mostly commercial area in the heart of Fallouja that was the first neighborhood reopened to residents.

Officials said few people stopped by humanitarian centers set up around the city offering food and other supplies. Huge tanks holding drinking water have been erected across Fallouja because the water system is still out of commission.

By the end of the day, 921 people had passed through the four checkpoints, 16 were turned back, and one was detained, said a U.S. military spokeswoman, Maj. M. Naomi Hawkins.

Officials said people might not have known they were allowed to go home, and more might come after announcements during weekly prayers at mosques today.

They also said some people were waiting to hear whether it was safe to return -- a question made more acute with the fighting.

Marines have said many people staying in refugee camps near Fallouja did not seem to be aware of the extent of damage in the city.

Few buildings were left unscarred in the U.S.-led offensive, which began Nov. 8.

“This is all that’s left of my property,” one returnee said Thursday, waving a dusty blanket.

Others seemed undeterred by the destruction.

“We want to go back to Fallouja. We want to see whether our houses were looted or not,” a man said. “Even if our houses were destroyed, we are ready to set up tents inside Fallouja.”