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Heavy US air, ground forces pound Falluja
Fierce fighting has erupted in the restive Iraqi city of Falluja as US occupation forces strike the town with warplanes, helicopter gunships, mortar bombs and tanks.
Live footage beamed on Aljazeera TV showed the night sky incessantly lit up as strike after strike hit mainly the Golan district of the city on Tuesday.
Aljazeera's correspondent reported a heavy exchange of gunfire was also heard and several homes were on fire.
Amidst the explosions, Quranic recital could be heard over the mosque's loudspeaker, as a reminder to people to remember God at this time, the correspondent said.
He added that US marines are not only attacking from the air with helicopter gunships and warplanes, but ground troops are using machine guns and tanks as well.
There are reports that an AC-130 gunship aircraft fired multiple cannon rounds over the city. One report said the gunship fired 20 to 25 rounds at a time with explosions on the ground sending showers of sparks and flames into the night sky.
"I can hear more than 10 explosions a minute. Fires are lighting the night sky," one witness told Reuters. "The earth is shaking under my feet."
The fighting came hours after a US deadline for fighters in the city of 300,000 to hand over their weapons. More than 600 people have been killed since US marines besieged the city on 5 April.
Aljazeera + Agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/27BD0F9D-FBF5-4C06-B5CB-050AC10DD6AD.htm
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Heavy fighting is taking place in the Iraqi town of Falluja for the second night running.
Fierce clashes are reported between US marines and Iraqi fighters, as US tanks and aircraft fired into the northern Golan part of the city.
Reports tell of flames rising from many buildings, and loudspeakers in parts of the town calling firefighters to work.
US forces say it is not an assault but that they are targeting positions that had earlier fired on Marines.
The BBC's Jennifer Glasse, with US forces outside Falluja, says commanders are describing the action as "defensive in nature".
It came as UN Iraq envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was briefing the UN Security Council on the planned transfer of power on 30 June.
Mr Brahimi said the timetable for setting up an interim government in Iraq was tight but achievable. He said it should be possible to name the members of the caretaker administration by the end of May.
Members of Iraq's interim Governing Council have called for "nothing less than full sovereignty" from the handover.
But US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said Iraq would have to "give back" some power to the US in the early days amid the ongoing insecurity in the country.
'Sniper's nest'
The latest fighting also came hours after a US deadline for insurgents in the predominantly Sunni Muslim city of Falluja to hand over their weapons.
Hundreds have been killed in the siege on the town, a hotbed of anti-coalition insurgency.
Plans to begin joint patrols of US marines and Iraqi security forces in the town were shelved after Monday's heavy fighting.
One Marine and eight insurgents were killed on Monday, and reports said tank fire destroyed a mosque minaret that US commanders said insurgents were using as sniper's nest.
Saddam Hussein visited
Earlier, US forces said they had killed 64 Shia Muslim militiamen and destroyed an anti-aircraft weapon in fighting near the holy city of Najaf.
The clashes took place on Monday night, hours after US troops had moved into a base in Najaf being vacated by Spanish troops.
The clashes between US soldiers and Shia militiamen loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada Sadr took place on the outskirts of the town of Kufa, some 10km (six miles) north-east of Najaf.
Elsewhere, the Red Cross visited Saddam Hussein for a second time since he was jailed in December.
US military spokesman Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt said the coalition would continue to meet its "obligations under international law" regarding the former leader.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3664991.stm
Fierce clashes are reported between US marines and Iraqi fighters, as US tanks and aircraft fired into the northern Golan part of the city.
Reports tell of flames rising from many buildings, and loudspeakers in parts of the town calling firefighters to work.
US forces say it is not an assault but that they are targeting positions that had earlier fired on Marines.
The BBC's Jennifer Glasse, with US forces outside Falluja, says commanders are describing the action as "defensive in nature".
It came as UN Iraq envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was briefing the UN Security Council on the planned transfer of power on 30 June.
Mr Brahimi said the timetable for setting up an interim government in Iraq was tight but achievable. He said it should be possible to name the members of the caretaker administration by the end of May.
Members of Iraq's interim Governing Council have called for "nothing less than full sovereignty" from the handover.
But US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said Iraq would have to "give back" some power to the US in the early days amid the ongoing insecurity in the country.
'Sniper's nest'
The latest fighting also came hours after a US deadline for insurgents in the predominantly Sunni Muslim city of Falluja to hand over their weapons.
Hundreds have been killed in the siege on the town, a hotbed of anti-coalition insurgency.
Plans to begin joint patrols of US marines and Iraqi security forces in the town were shelved after Monday's heavy fighting.
One Marine and eight insurgents were killed on Monday, and reports said tank fire destroyed a mosque minaret that US commanders said insurgents were using as sniper's nest.
Saddam Hussein visited
Earlier, US forces said they had killed 64 Shia Muslim militiamen and destroyed an anti-aircraft weapon in fighting near the holy city of Najaf.
The clashes took place on Monday night, hours after US troops had moved into a base in Najaf being vacated by Spanish troops.
The clashes between US soldiers and Shia militiamen loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada Sadr took place on the outskirts of the town of Kufa, some 10km (six miles) north-east of Najaf.
Elsewhere, the Red Cross visited Saddam Hussein for a second time since he was jailed in December.
US military spokesman Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt said the coalition would continue to meet its "obligations under international law" regarding the former leader.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3664991.stm
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