Deaths of 10 more U.S. troops brings the two-day total to 21

[General Duke]

Deaths of 10 more U.S. troops brings the two-day total to 21

 

By Robert Burns

Associated Press

 

 

WASHINGTON - U.S. casualties in Iraq are mounting as the U.S.-led offensive in Fallujah unfolds. As of Tuesday night, 10 soldiers had been killed in action and an undisclosed number wounded - a toll described by a senior U.S. commander as light.

On Monday, 11 U.S. service members died across Iraq - among the highest for a single day since last spring - as the insurgents escalated the violence in Baghdad and elsewhere.

 

The U.S. military command in Baghdad said that in addition to the 10 U.S. troops killed in Fallujah, two members of the Iraqi security forces also had been killed. A brief U.S. military statement said there could be delays in reporting combat casualties in Fallujah "in order to prevent the anti-Iraqi forces and other terrorist elements from gaining useful battlefield intelligence."

 

Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, senior U.S. commander for the Fallujah operation, said he was pleased that U.S. casualties so far had been limited to about a dozen. He would not be more specific, saying any number he gave quickly would be out of date.

 

Speaking by video teleconference from his headquarters in Baghdad, Metz told reporters at the Pentagon that insurgent casualties were "significantly higher than I expected." Most of the rebel force, estimated at between 2,000 and 3,000, was "fighting hard but not to the death," he said.

 

Casualty reports, particularly in a combat zone like Fallujah, sometimes are slow and imprecise because of the chaotic conditions.

 

Tommy Franks, the retired four-star Army general who commanded U.S. forces when President Bush ordered the invasion in March 2003, said Tuesday it was too early to conclude that U.S. casualties would remain light.

 

"There can be an inclination to say, ‘Hey, this is going just right.’ I’d caution against that," he said in an Associated Press interview. "This enemy is capable of putting up a big fight."

 

Franks also said he expected the level of violence in Iraq, as well as the number of U.S. casualties, to begin to decline now that the U.S. elections were over and Bush had made clear that the United States would remain on course.

 

The death toll for Iraqi civilians has been higher in recent days than the U.S. death count, as it has been through much of the war. Many have been killed by car bombs.

 

Dan Goure, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute think tank, said Iraqis present an easier target for the insurgents, and he expects them to continue to bear the brunt of the violence.

 

Goure said the relatively light U.S. casualties in the opening days of the Fallujah offensive may not hold as the fighting escalates. But he noted that so far the toll is less severe than last April when 135 U.S. troops died, the worst month of the war.

 

"If casualties in November start approaching that number, then there’s some significant reason to worry," Goure said.

 

After a decline in U.S. deaths in May and June, the toll began rising again. There were 54 in July, 65 in August, 80 in September and 63 in October. By the Pentagon’s count, 1,139 Americans have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

 

Metz said it was remained unclear whether insurgents were consolidating in parts of the city that U.S. forces had not yet reached. In any case he foresaw "several more days of tough urban fighting."

 

U.S. officials have been predicting for weeks that violence in Iraq would escalate as national elections scheduled for January drew closer. They believe the rebels’ main goal is to prevent the elections.

 

The U.S.-led assault on Fallujah, while risking a spike in casualties, is intended to stabilize that city so that a major population center is not excluded from the January voting.

 

The insurgents remain a problem in several other cities in the "Sunni Triangle" that runs north and west from Baghdad, where deposed President Saddam Hussein grew up and had his strongest support. These include Ramadi, Baqubah, Samarra and the Iraqi capital.

 

The Fallujah fighting is among the most dangerous for U.S. troops, who are battling bands of guerrillas in the city’s streets. Among the threats they face are hidden roadside bombs and car bombs, in addition to small arms like AK-47 assault rifles and machine guns.

 

There also is an increased risk of "friendly fire" casualties in urban warfare, although there was no indication Tuesday that this had happened.

 

AP photo

[Muhammad]

"Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, senior U.S. commander for the Fallujah operation, said he was pleased that U.S. casualties so far had been limited to about a dozen. He would not be more specific, saying any number he gave quickly would be out of date. "

 

anyone who knows anything about urban and guerrilla warfare, knows that the real battle has not even began!

 

the resistance can't stand to the military machine of the yankees, they will have to lure then deep inside the city first before they can attack.

 

may Allah(swt) be merciful with the innocent and crush the oppressors! Amiin.

[Maalqabeen]

Americans alone bound the city of falluja the last few days with warplanes and heavy artillery

last night the american troops entered falluja as usual us-troops race to the centre of something without securing nothing this time was centre of falluja and the so feared urban-war started the rest i will leave to up the reporter in falluja Fadhil Badrani, a journalist in Falluja who reports for the BBC World Service in Arabic.

 

This what he reported to the BBC a hour ago

 

Fadhil Badrani told the BBC News website that the battle was particularly fierce in the district of Jolan, just north of the centre.

He said he had seen the bodies of eight US soldiers lying in the streets of the city's Hammaniyya area overnight, along with the remains of many dead rebels. He had also found two disabled US tanks and three destroyed Humvee jeeps.

 

The journalist added that rebels were moving from street to street, attacking US troops where they could and letting them pass where they could not.

He said he doubted the truth of US claims that marines were in control of 70% of the city.

 

Here link to the whole story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3996111.stm

 

And for the people who don’t nothing about urban warfare here is a link

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/urban_warfare/html/default.stm

 

Check it out walahi interesting stuff