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Fierce gunbattles in Fallujah
27/04/2004 21:52 - (SA)
Fallujah - Fierce gun battles broke out again late on Tuesday as sporadic fighting continued in the flashpoint Iraqi town of Fallujah, according to a CNN pool reporter.
An AC-130 gunship fired multiple cannon rounds on two suspected rebel positions and arms depots in the northwest part of the city, said the reporter.
He said the shelling came a day after heavy fighting with insurgents in the same area that saw one US marine killed and at least nine others wounded.
Chanting was heard from mosques in the neighbourhood, but it was not clear what they were saying.
The fighting occurred in the Jolan neighbourhood, considered the stronghold of the insurgents in the Sunni Muslim bastion. The rest of the city was quiet.
Marine commanders said after Monday's fighting that they wished to continue negotiations with Fallujah residents in the hope of marginalising the insurgents in their haven in the Jolan district.
Joint patrols of US troops and Iraqi police and paramilitary forces that were supposed to start on Tuesday have been postponed.
US overseer in Iraq Paul Bremer said on Iraqi television that they would begin on Thursday.
Marine officers on the ground said earlier that the decision was based on sensitivity for Saddam Hussein's birthday on Wednesday.
- AFP
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