U.S. hits "hornets' nest" of entrenched fighters

By Jackie Spinner and Karl Vick
The Washington Post

ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS / AP A Marine leads away a captured Iraqi man yesterday in the center of Fallujah, Iraq. A Marine official said about 50 fighters surrendered yesterday and 450 suspected insurgents have been detained since the offensive began.

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NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq — Insurgents in trenches met advancing U.S. and Iraqi forces in southern Fallujah with a burst of bullets and rockets yesterday in what commanders described as one of the fiercest days of fighting since the battle to retake the city began five days ago.

Marines and soldiers said they encountered guerrillas dug into traditional defensive positions from which they could pop up, shoot and quickly take cover. The Americans said they and their Iraqi allies fought back with rifles, automatic weapons, belt-fed machine guns, mortars and hand grenades.

"It was a hornets' nest," said Capt. Erik Krivda, of Gaithersburg, Md., the officer in charge of the Army's 1st Infantry Division Task Force 2-2 tactical operations command center.

"They're basically surrounded," said Lt. Col. Gareth Brandl, commander of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. "They know they can't go anywhere, so they're fighting hard. ... We're crushing his back, one vertebra at a time."

The insurgents are said to have dug earthen mounds and other fortifications, booby-trapped houses and constructed tunnels and other underground positions.

"We've known for months that this (southern Fallujah) is where most of the foreign fighters are," said Marine Col. Craig Tucker, displaying a satellite photograph of the city. "This (the south) is where we find fortifications. We've seen a lot of tunnels and spider holes. ... These guys are probably better trained. They've got fortified positions."

Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the Marine commander in Iraq, said 22 U.S. troops have been killed and more than 170 seriously wounded in and around Fallujah since the offensive began Monday night. Another 490 troops suffered wounds but were able to return to duty, he said.

In addition, Sattler said, five members of the Iraqi security forces have been killed and 40 wounded.

The U.S. military, which said it controls about 80 percent of the city, estimates roughly 600 insurgents have been killed in the fighting since the offensive began.

Sattler said U.S. and Iraqi forces had broken the insurgents' "back and spirit. The goal right now is to continue to keep the heat on them. The concern now is to take care of this fight, re-establish the rule of law and return the town to the Fallujah people."

Witnesses reported another big battle in central Fallujah at the Rawtha Mohammediya mosque, which had served as the insurgents' headquarters but is now controlled by the Marines. About 200 to 300 fighters came from southern neighborhoods to stage the assault, but it ended after two hours with their suffering heavy losses, according to witnesses.

Also in central Fallujah, Marines said, a number of fighters carrying white flags — with rifles concealed below their robes — were seen. Marine snipers posted on a roof in the nearby U.S.-controlled municipal government complex opened fire, killing 10 to 12, said Staff Sgt. Jorge Olalde, of Charlie Company with the 1st Battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment.

"They were playing the game of surrendering, but had their AKs under their cloaks," Olalde said.

Military officials also reported that fighting had resumed in Fallujah's Jolan neighborhood, an insurgent stronghold in the city's northwest. A day earlier, the military said opposition had largely been silenced in the area and that Iraqi forces had taken over operations there.

Iraqi forces are charged with searching every building in Fallujah, working from north to south, the military said.

Troops have cut off all roads and bridges leading out of Fallujah, which once had a population of 300,000, and have turned back hundreds of men trying to flee the city during the assault.

Only women, children and the elderly can leave.

The military says keeping boys and men ages 15 to 55 from leaving is key to the mission's success.

"If they're not carrying a weapon, you can't tell who's who," said an officer with the 1st Cavalry Division.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have detained 450 suspected insurgents, with about 50 surrendering yesterday, Tucker said.

"I understand from the enemy we have captured that their morale is low," said Marine Lt. Col. Michael Ramos, who heads the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment. "They feel that the city is surrounded and the only thing remaining for them is to surrender or die."

Those who capitulate tend to be Iraqis, said Tucker, not the fervent foreign jihadists who are said to have used the city as their base of operations in recent months. The Iraqis may be less committed to fighting to the death, commanders said.

However, Thaer Hasen Naqib, spokesman for interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, said those captured include men from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria.

"It really doesn't matter from which group they are," Naqib said at a military outpost near Fallujah. "They are foreigners. They are not invited to come to Iraq. We want to get rid of them as soon as possible."

There were also indications yesterday that several fighters from Chechnya, the breakaway Russian republic, had been found dead in Fallujah. There was no official confirmation of the report.

Material from The Associated Press and Chicago Tribune is included in this report.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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