All roads leading to this city of 300,000 were cut
off and barricaded with tanks and concertina wire. Working through
the cold and windy desert night, under a large moon, Marines set up
camps for detainees and residents who might flee.
Before dawn, several Marine positions on the fringes
of town were hit by mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenade fire;
one Marine was reported killed.
The Marines called in air support to take out some
enemy positions and said in some cases the attackers were working in
groups as large as 12. Witnesses reported gunfire overnight and said
at least four homes had been hit by what they said were U.S. aerial
strikes.
At daylight, Marines in armored Humvees began distributing
leaflets asking residents to stay in their homes and help identify
insurgents and those responsible for last week's killings. They also
took over the local radio station and used bullhorns to get the message
out.
"We are going to stop the anarchy inside this city," one
announcement said; another asserted that insurgents were violating
the peaceful tenets of Islam.
...
Marines said they had no plans to conduct random door-to-door searches;
they instead intended to work from a list of addresses where intelligence
suggested suspects might be hiding and weapons might be stored.
Maj. Brandon McGowan, executive officer of the Marines'
2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, called the operation "the first of many
steps toward bringing stability to Fallouja."
Members of the new Iraqi army and the Iraqi Civil
Defense Corps were to play support roles in the operation, but some
had to be sent home today when they reported without their uniforms
or ID cards, Marines said. It was unclear how long the operation would
last.
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