On the Fallujah front, Marines drove into the center of the Sunni city in heavy fighting before pulling back before nightfall. The assault had been promised after the brutal killings and mutilations of four American civilians there last week.

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Marines waged a fierce battle for hours Tuesday with gunmen holed up in a residential neighborhood of Fallujah. The military used a deadly AC-130 gunship to lay down a barrage of fire against guerrillas, and commanders said Marines were holding an area several blocks deep inside the city. At least two Marines were wounded.

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U.S. Marines encircled Fallujah early Monday, and on Tuesday, they penetrated several central neighborhoods for the first time. Mortar and rocket-propelled grenade blasts were heard, and one witness said a Humvee was ablaze.

Heavy fighting also occurred between Marines entrenched in the desert and guerrillas firing from houses on Fallujah's northeast outskirts. For hours into the night, the sides traded fire, while teams of Marines moved in and out of the neighborhood, seizing buildings to use as posts and battling gunmen. Helicopters weaved overhead, firing at guerrilla hide-outs.

"We are several blocks deep in the city of Fallujah," Marine Maj. Briandon McGolwan said. He said several helicopters were hit by small arms fire, but none were downed. He said Marines had detained 14 people since Monday.

U.S. troops battled Iraqi guerrillas Tuesday on the edges of Fallujah, which hundreds of Marines and Iraqi troops have surrounded in a major operation to pacify one of Iraq's most violent cities. The military reported four Marines killed in the area.

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In Fallujah, explosions and gunfire were heard from the city through the night Monday and into Tuesday morning, apparently U.S. troops shelling targets and clashing with guerrillas as Marines probed the outskirts with reconnaissance patrols.

Hospital hit

The only operating hospital in Falluja, about 65km west of Baghdad, was hit by US tank and missile fire overnight, reported Aljazeera's correspondent Ahmad Mansur on Tuesday.

Restrictions have brought the town's transport to a standstill

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Aljazeera's correspondent in Falluja reported late on Monday several loud explosions across the mainly Sunni Muslim town, where US helicopters had been in action, firing a number of missiles.

Husayn Ali, a member of the Aljazeera production team in Falluja, was monitoring the tense situation on Monday.

"Falluja's main and minor entry points are totally closed," he said. "US forces are not allowing anyone in or out. We talked to US forces. They said they have orders to seal the city off for two or three days.

"We also visited the Golan district where clashes took place earlier today between fighters from Falluja and US forces," Ali said. "We saw signs of fierce confrontation. US forces have bombed the district. We saw several destroyed houses.

"Golan inhabitants say US forces used cluster bombs and missiles against them," he said. "Citizens of the city are completely enraged - but not afraid - waiting for the coming events," the correspondent said.

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The leaflets outlawed demonstrations, the possession of firearms and imposed a 7pm to 6am daily curfew. Residents were advised that in the event of a raid by US forces, all family members should gather in a single room in the house.

"This indicates that door-to-door operations will be launched by US forces," the correspondent had reported.

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Aljazeera.net spoke by phone to a taxi driver in Falluja. Giving his name only as Muhammad, he said he was unable to work because the roads were closed and people had not gone to work.

"The Falluja economy is dependant for goods and services on the agricultural and industrial towns and cities in the region. Today, vegetables and food could not be brought into the town. People who work outside Falluja could not go to work," he said.

"Even Falluja's main hospital is inaccessible because it is located out of the city across the Euphrates river, and the bridge is closed. Today I saw an ambulance driver negotiating with US soldiers to let him cross the bridge. They let him through after a long and tiresome argument."

The fighting was also intense overnight in Fallujah, despite a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew imposed by American forces.

Officials in Fallujah said five U.S. Marines were killed in the fighting. By noon Tuesday, locals said the town, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, was under American control. As the day passed, they said the Americans moved back toward the perimeter of the city.

Tanks sat on the highway leading to the city from Baghdad, with barrels pointing toward oncoming traffic and the town.

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Marines at the checkpoint were stern, refusing even to reveal their hometowns or chat about stateside news.

"Nobody is going in," one said, finally. "If people want to leave, they can leave, but nobody goes in."

Town residents said U.S. Marines were on every corner.

"The town was in hiding, the town was gone, nobody was moving," said Dr. Hibaa Wazan, who spent the past several years treating patients at the local hospital. She added that the daytime quiet followed a very loud night.

"The bombs started falling as soon as the curfew was set last night," she said. "All night, there was a constant gunfire, and several times an hour, there were very loud explosions."

Wazan said they evacuated all the patients capable of being moved, leaving only a few of the very ill to be cared for. The strain through the night, when one bomb landed outside the hospital doors, persuaded her to accompany a heart attack victim out of the city to a Baghdad hospital - and to not return.

In Fallujah, explosions and gunfire were heard through the night Monday and into Tuesday morning, apparently U.S. troops shelling targets and clashing with guerrillas as Marines probed the outskirts with reconnaissance patrols.

   A force of Marines pushed into an eastern neighborhood, clashing with guerrillas Tuesday. Gunmen carrying automatic weapons were seen in the streets. Guerrilla fire set one vehicle ablaze, said a witness, Issam Mahmoud, who said a soldier inside was killed. There was no immediate confirmation of the death.

   Troops broke into houses in the neighborhood, carrying out searches, and entered a mosque, witnesses said.

   U.S. troops waiting on the northern edge of Fallujah for orders to move in came under fire from nearby houses Tuesday, wounding two Marines. Tanks and Humvees moved into the neighborhood where the fire came from, and the sound of tank fire was later heard.