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Reference

Falluja Archive Oct 2004

Falluja Table - April 05

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IBC Extracted Falluja News - April 05

News Source
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Author
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Title
Reuters
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Michael Georgy
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VIOLENCE ERUPTS ACROSS IRAQ
Specific incidents / deaths

U.S. forces also tackled Sunni insurgents in Falluja, where four American security men were killed last week. Residents reported heavy firing overnight and a hospital doctor said five people had been killed and three wounded.

Date killed?  4th (overnight)
Total  5 (3 wounded)
Civilian / Fighter  
Cumulative deaths [and injuries]  
Date range?  
Total  
Civilian / Fighter  
Selected info, comment, analysis

Troops used loudspeakers to announce a night-time curfew and sealed roads around the troubled town west of Baghdad. Schools closed and the streets were empty. The U.S. military said it had also shut the nearby Baghdad-Amman highway indefinitely.

US/military viewpoint

 

News Source
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Author
-
Title
Associated Press
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05:48 PDT
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BASSEM MROUE
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U.S. FORCES SEAL OFF FALLUJAH AHEAD OF MAJOR OPERATION
Specific incidents / deaths

A witness reported that a U.S. helicopter struck a residential area in the city early Monday, killing five people. The bombing damaged five houses, said the witness, Mohammed Shawkat. There was no immediate U.S. comment on the report.

Another witness, resident Ali Jasim, said there was shooting near one of the U.S. barricades on a road out of Fallujah and some Iraqis who were trying to leave the city were hit. It was unclear whether they were killed or wounded. Roads to a hospital in Fallujah were blocked to all traffic except ambulances.

Date killed?  5th (morning)
Total  5
Civilian / Fighter  
Cumulative deaths [and injuries]  
Date range?  
Total  
Civilian / Fighter  
Selected info, comment, analysis

U.S. troops closed off entrances to Fallujah with earth barricades ahead of the planned operation, code named "Vigilant Resolve." Military patrols entered the outer suburbs on reconnaissance missions and to broadcast warnings on loud speakers to residents to stay indoors until Tuesday.

Iraqi police in the city visited mosques, dropping off Arabic leaflets from the U.S. military, telling residents that there was a daily 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. It ordered them not to congregate in groups or carry weapons, even if licensed. It instructed people that if U.S. forces enter their homes, they should gather in one room and if they want to talk to the troops to have their hands up.

...

Marine 1st Lt. Eric Knapp said the troops will target the killers of the four Americans as well as rebels who have attacked U.S. forces and Iraqi police in the past month. "Those people are specially targeted to be captured or killed," he said.

US/military viewpoint

 

News Source
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Author
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Title
Los Angeles Times
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12:02 PM PDT
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Tony Perry, Edmund Sanders and Alissa J. Rubin
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IRAQI SHIITE CLERIC SOUGHT ON MURDER WARRANT
Specific incidents / deaths

 

Date killed?  
Total  
Civilian / Fighter  
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Total  
Civilian / Fighter  
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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.

US/military viewpoint

"We're being a little more firm this time. We have to let people know that the terrorists who are harming their families and violating Islam are going against peace and brotherhood," said Capt. Michael Fehm. "We're driving a wedge between the insurgents and the good people of Fallouja."

News Source
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Author
-
Title
Aljazeera
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15:35 Makka Time, 12:35 GMT
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IRAQIS KILLED IN US APACHE AIR STRIKE
Specific incidents / deaths

Falluja besieged

Meanwhile, at least six Iraqis have been killed and several others wounded in clashes with US occupation forces in Falluja, west of Baghdad.

According to Aljazeera's correspondent, huge numbers of US soldiers have surrounded the city, preventing people from entering or leaving.

One Falluja resident reportedly told AFP that: "US forces bombed the Goland residential neighbourhood."

Several people were killed, others wounded and some houses hit, said Burhan Abid, adding he went on to the roof of his house when the fighting started and saw US aircraft overhead.

According to Abid the fighting erupted at 4:00am (00:00 GMT) and lasted for 90 minutes.

Date killed? 5th
(4:00-5:30 AM)
Total 6
Civilian / Fighter  
Cumulative deaths [and injuries]  
Date range?  
Total  
Civilian / Fighter  
Selected info, comment, analysis

US occupation forces have prevented Aljazeera's media crew from entering Falluja city.

The US army patrols the streets of al-Sadr city in Baghdad

"We were also prevented from videotaping the area," reported Aljazeera's correspondent.

He added that occupation forces "are based at all gates of the city, preventing citizens from entering or exiting it".

US forces have told Aljazeera the city will remain sealed off for a couple of days.

"Door-to-door operations may be launched in the city, in an attempt to capture those who killed US contractors last week," the correspondent added.

Jordan-Baghdad highway shut

The US-led occupation forces have also shut the highways from Baghdad to Jordan due to ongoing "military activities" in the area of Falluja and Ramadi.

US/military viewpoint  
News Source
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Author
-
Title
North County Times
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12:43 PM PDT
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DARRIN MORTENSON
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U.S. TAKES CASUALTIES AS MAJOR OPERATION BEGINS IN FALLUJAH
Specific incidents / deaths

Hardy and others said insurgents attacked with grenades and small arms at about 2 a.m., when the Marines arrived to set up a roadblock and fortify positions for newly trained Iraqi troops just a few hundred meters from the nearest buildings.

After a second, more coordinated attack that killed one Marine and wounded another, the troops pulled back to a safer position on the other side of the highway. Spotters in a AC-130 Spectre gunship flying overhead warned them by radio of at least 12 insurgents moving towards the troops' position.

Within minutes, the gunship had fired its cannon and Gatling guns, silencing the insurgents' position, said Staff Sgt. Michael Ventrone, 29, of Lake Zurich, Ill.

Date killed? 5th
(early AM)
Total 12+ (possible)
Civilian / Fighter 0/12
Cumulative deaths [and injuries]  
Date range?  
Total  
Civilian / Fighter  
Selected info, comment, analysis  
US/military viewpoint One Marine was killed and at least one was wounded early Monday morning, officials said, as about 2,000 U.S. troops fought to seal off the lawless town of Fallujah, where Marines promised to clean out "terrorists" and "criminals" and where Iraqi insurgents have vowed to create a "graveyard for Americans."

...

Marine officials said the cordon of Fallujah will last as long as it takes to clear the town of weapons caches and a long list of suspected insurgents.

Lt. Col. Gregg Olson, commander of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, said the operation was being conducted slowly and methodically to spare innocent lives.

"We want to give the good people of Fallujah the chance to separate themselves from the terrorists," he said Monday afternoon as tanks rolled out of the battalion command area to reinforce some of the Marine units dug in around the city.

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