FALLUJAH, Iraq – U.S. troops, on the verge of gaining control of the city, fought pockets of resistance in this former militant stronghold Wednesday and uncovered what the Iraqi commander said were “hostage slaughterhouses” in which foreign captives had been killed.
Insurgents sought to open a second front, mounting attacks outside Fallujah. They also kidnapped three relatives of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and reportedly threatened further revenge against the leader. Militants also claimed to have abducted 20 Iraqi National Guard troops in Fallujah.
Throughout the day, Americans hit the militants with artillery and mortars, and warplanes fired on the city’s main street and market as well as Jolan, one of several neighborhoods where troops were skirmishing with militants.
In what could be a sign of progress, the Marines began turning over Jolan to Iraqi forces, signaling that Marines consider the area relatively secure. Jolan was considered one of the strongest positions held by militants inside Fallujah.
Even so, a reporter embedded with them witnessed continued clashes in Jolan and smoke billowing from the heart of the neighborhood late Wednesday. Fireballs and tracer fire lit up the night sky over Fallujah and the sounds of artillery echoed in the streets.
In one of the most dramatic clashes of the day, snipers fired on U.S. and Iraqi troops from the minarets of the Khulafah Al Rashid mosque, the military said. Marines said the insurgents waved a white flag at one stage but then opened fire, BBC’s embedded correspondent Paul Wood reported. The troops called in four precision airstrikes that destroyed the minarets but left the mosque standing.
Pool footage showed U.S. forces battling insurgents in a neighborhood surrounding the mosque. Troops were pinned down by gunfire on a rooftop, forced to hit the deck and lay on their stomachs.
“We’re taking fire from the mosque,” one of the Americans said. Forces returned fire, blasting the mosque – a large domed building flanked by two minarets – and sending up clouds of debris.
“When they’re using a mosque to do command and control for insurgents and kill my fellow Marines and soldiers and airmen that are out here – no holds barred, the gloves are off,” said Marine Staff Sgt. Sam Mortimer.
Tank gunners also opened fire on insurgents in a nearby five-story apartment building, and flames shot from several windows.
Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said insurgents had been reduced to “small pockets, blind, moving throughout the city. And we will continue to hunt them down and destroy them.”
“When they attempted to flee from one zone to another they were killed,” Sattler said. “We feel very comfortable that none of them moved back toward the north or escaped on the flanks.”
In Fallujah, at least 71 militants have been killed by early Wednesday, the third day of intense urban combat, the military said. As of Tuesday night, 10 U.S. troops and two members of the Iraqi security forces had been killed. Marine reports Wednesday said 25 American troops and 16 Iraqi soldiers were wounded. There was no new report Wednesday on U.S. military deaths.
Most of Fallujah’s 200,000 to 300,000 residents are believed to have fled the city before the U.S. assault. Civilian casualties in the attack are not known, though U.S. commanders say they believe the numbers are low.
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