WAR: U.S. Forces Storm Into Western Fallujah

According to recent reports from the AP U.S. forces have started storming into western Fallujah as AC-130 gunships raked the city and cannon fire lit up the sky. As of Tuesday afternoon in Iraq, reports are coming in that Coalition forces have reached the heart of Fallujah.

The city's train station has been converted into an operational base by combined US and Iraqi troops. The upcoming battles will involve urban combat - the most dangerous and deadly means of fighting.

Early reports indicate anywhere from a dozen to more than 40 Iraqis have been killed in the fighting. There is no official word on US casualties at this time.



According to sources this appears to be the first step in the long awaited and more likely than not lengthy battle. The action is said to have begun just minutes after dark on the outskirts of the city.


[edit on 11-11-2004 by Zion Mainframe]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi troops backed by U.S. Marines have seized Falluja's main hospital, the first step in what is expected to be a major push to retake the city from insurgents, hours after a 60-day state of emergency is imposed across most of the nation.

Gunfire and artillery echoed across the town overnight Sunday, but it remained unclear when the bulk of the U.S.-led force outside Falluja would begin moving.

The hospital -- on the western edge of the city -- was taken by the 36th Iraqi Commando Battalion with only minor resistance late Sunday, according to a pool reporter.

www.cnn.com...

[edit on 11/8/04 by FredT]

Originally posted by geocom
According to sources this appears to be the first step in the long awaited and more likely than not lengthy battle.

We'll see. I don't think it will be all that lengthy, but it will be methodical.

Our forces have had a long time to plan and prepare for this, and have detailed intel on enemy forces and positions, and most of them have been surrounded for a while.

There will be some fierce fighting in spots, but now that the gloves are off, the outcome is already determined.

The Iraqi Prime Minister has just given the order to go ahead.

More death and destruction in the name of freedom.

Two U.S. Marines, 10 Iraqis reported killed as fighting intensifies

The U.S. military reported its first casualties of the offensive � two Marines killed when their bulldozer flipped over into the Euphrates River. Ten Iraqis were killed and 11 others injured during the night of fighting in Fallujah, according to doctors.

God willing the Mujahideen will be able to repel the occupation forces.

Originally posted by cstyle226
God willing the Mujahideen will be able to repel the occupation forces.

Newsflash: God ain't willing. They will die gloriously, no doubt, but they will die.

Maybe he isn't.

Either way, the outcome of these events will be the correct one.

[edit on 8-11-2004 by cstyle226]

Yup, the end to these animlas kidnapping and killing people there to help them. most these insurgents arent even from iraq. its like a coalition force of muslim terrorists from around the world.

Two Marines have died in an accident marking them as the first casulties of the offensive.

TNEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - Two Marines were killed early Monday in Fallujah, the U.S. military said, making them the first casualties in the American-led offensive to retake the insurgent-held city


The two Marines drowned when their bulldozer flipped over into the Euphrates River, the military said.

Their bodies were discovered at 8 a.m. in the river, the U.S. military said.
Their names were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

U.S. forces stormed into the western outskirts of Fallujah early Monday, seizing the main city hospital and securing two key bridges over the Euphrates river in what appeared to be the first stage of the long-expected assault on the insurgent stronghold, 40 miles west of Baghdad.

Marine Deaths

Why are we wasteing good Marines on this place. Daisy-cutter time. I think 10 would do it. Waste the place.......save my Jar-heads.

This is bad, these Iraqis dont care about their own lives, a group of marines could easily walk into a building and just one suicide bomber could just pull the pin and easily kill however many marines/soldiers in a split second with no thought at all.

We are fighting a totally different type of force, and we can expect many many casualties of our forces and the opposition.

That video from last night showed how easy it is for these suiciders to take out 3 soldiers with 1 person.

God help our people.

Man if I could create a �Way back� machine I would and we never would have been in Iraq. But the cold hard reality is we are there (thanks GWB, loser). And we only have two choices at this point: Get the hell out right now or get the big guns and get the job done. The situation is extreme and so must be the solutions.

I feel so terrible for the Iraqi people I cant sleep some nights. The non Iraqi element in the country is the sole reason that we are having so much trouble. They are the catalyst. Actual Iraqi�s really do want freedom, most of them really were happy to get rid of Saddam (or did). But GWB�s inability to create an occupation plan is costing the Iraqi people there lives and country. The foreign element has successfully destabilized any chance of the very reconstruction that would be needed to give the Iraqi people their freedom and lives back. And they did this from day one!!! We can talk for hours how the foreigners were able to do this and how GWB allowed it to happen, but that�s not the reason for my post.

The bottom line is we are there, right now, like it or not. Leaving isn�t going to happen and even though I don�t think we should have gone in the first place, leaving right now would make this train wreck 100 times worse. The reality is that only brute, hard and consistent force is going to finish this. Its not about �winning� anymore, its about getting the inevitable fighting over as soon as possible, no matter who the victor is. Now, we will �win� of course (i.e. kill all the �bad guys�). But at what cost and how soon?

We need to get to a point where Iraqi�s aren�t watching their families getting killed in the streets, a point where they have food, water and all the basics of life. We need to get to a point where the Iraqis have faith in their government, even if just a little. And at this late stage of the game, cleaning out Fallujah is the only course for us and the people of Iraq. The foreign element or the �catalyst� needs to go, from Fallujah and all of Iraq.

I hope that as few people die doing this as possible. The only people in the process not protected by my �hope� are the foreign terrorists that have made this whole venture as sour as it is�I hope every one of them die in the �name of their Allah� for ruining the hope for Iraq and its people�

U.S. forces backed by aircraft and artillery are advancing in Falluja. They have already seized two bridges and a hospital. 42 Insurgents have been reported killed and 4 foreigners have been detained.

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - Backed by a barrage from warplanes and artillery, American troops fought their way into the western outskirts of Fallujah on Monday, seizing a hospital and two bridges over the Euphrates River in the first stage of a major assault on the insurgent stronghold

The U.S. military reported its first casualties of the offensive � two Marines killed when their bulldozer flipped over into the Euphrates. A military spokesman estimated that 42 insurgents were killed across Fallujah in the opening round of attacks.

Four foreigners, including two Moroccans and two unidentified people, were captured when U.S. and Iraqi forces swept into the first objective: Fallujah's main hospital, which the military and Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said was under insurgent control.
Update

Urban warfare is extremely difficult to win under the best of circumstances. If history is any guide unfortunately there is going to be alot of casualties on both sides. I see this as the alliance's toughest challenge yet and the outcome could well determine the direction of this war. I think the US has to win this one at all cost but how many casualties can we at home stomach??

I think the US has to win this one at all cost but how many casualties can we at home stomach??

50

Any less than 50, and no repercussions...any more than 50, and there will be political hell to pay. May sound cruel to assign a number to it, but thems the breaks....

Originally posted by Slanty
Yup, the end to these animlas kidnapping and killing people there to help them. most these insurgents arent even from iraq. its like a coalition force of muslim terrorists from around the world.

I'm sure all those contractors over there to make a buck helping the occupying army are reeeeallly helping the ordinary people US forces have obliterated fallujah's hospital - horay for progress

I have the strangest feeling in my gut that these marines of ours are really going to be in trouble during this invasion of Fallujah. I just have this gut check saying chemical weapons are going to be let loose and people are going to die by the thousands.

Originally posted by GrndLkNatv
I have the strangest feeling in my gut that these marines of ours are really going to be in trouble during this invasion of Fallujah. I just have this gut check saying chemical weapons are going to be let loose and people are going to die by the thousands.

I have the same gut reaction. I believe, at one point, the insurgents DID mention that they were planning on using " a form of weaponry unused as yet" if we should invade Fallujah. I've really fought my own gut instincts on this and, reading your post, as made me think, once again, that this is a real possibility.
God help us.
joey

and Army will kick their butts into the dirt, literally stomp on them. But then it hit me that they have nothing to loose and if they use chemical weapons, who is going to care? I mean nobody is going to fire off a nuke in retaliation here, nobody is going to use chemical weapons against them either, we can't because of world opinion. I pray to God I am wrong, but something makes me nervous.

Doesn't it seem that things are going rather easy.... I mean if I were a marine I would beginning to think something was a little wrong, kind of like the bear luring me into a box canyon for a meal. I haven't seen any real battle yet and they are half way in.