Monday, April 26, 2004

And in Fallujah, the truce ends

Fallujah exploded Monday morning prompting hours of fighting in the northern district of Jolan when a US Military patrol fired on civilians returning to their homes under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

...According to details, the Rantissi Brigade, an Iraq resistance group named in honor of the late leader of Hamas who was murdered by Israeli forces, managed to surrounded a small unit of US soldiers. Taking them captive, they took the twelve to the roof of a nearby building and systematically shot them, throwing the bodies from the roof top to the ground below.

U.S. Marines fired 81-millimeter mortars on the building to prevent Resistance fighters from leaving however they managed to escape without incident. Eventually Cobra helicopters and AC- 130 Spectre gun ships leveled the building.

US military sources have so far reported only one US Marine dead and eight others wounded.
  Jihad Unspun article

This is not the report of the outbreak of fighting given in other accounts.

From The Moscow Times:

One U.S. soldier and eight Iraqi insurgents were killed in fierce fighting in the turbulent town of Fallujah on Monday, a U.S. military spokesman said.

Eight other U.S. soldiers were wounded in the clash.

The new breach of a little respected cease-fire followed a deal reached on Sunday under which U.S. Marines and Iraqi police were supposed to patrol the streets of Fallujah from Tuesday.


From The Washington Post

The exchange in Fallujah followed high-level weekend consultations -- involving the White House, the U.S. occupation authority and local leaders -- about the nearly month-long standoff in the Sunni city, 35 miles west of the capital. After the consultations, the Marines postponed plans to mount an attack against insurgents and decided to attempt to regain control without a full-scale offensive.


From The Boston Globe:

In Fallujah, U.S. troops came under a heavy insurgent attack a day after U.S. officials decided to extend a cease-fire rather than launch a full-scale offensive on the city. One Marine and eight insurgents were killed.

Marines battled Sunni guerrillas around a mosque in Fallujah's Jolan district, a poor neighborhood where insurgents are concentrated. Helicopter gunships joined the battle, which sent heavy black smoke over the city. Tank fire demolished a minaret from which officials said gunmen were firing.

The U.S. troops met ''a real nasty bunch,'' said Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. But he said the violence would not deter plans to begin joint U.S.-Iraq patrols in the city.


For more on the negotiations for a ceasefire, read the rest of the first article. It's not quite the same story as we're getting from our media reports. Surprise.

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