Marines, insurgents renew fighting in Fallujah

[thedrifter]

Marines, insurgents renew fighting in Fallujah

By: DARRIN MORTENSON - Staff Writer

FALLUJAH, Iraq ---- A scarlet sunrise Wednesday heralded the resumption of violence and the apparent end of a cease-fire in this besieged city; Marines advancing a block or two into the city were attacked by heavily armed insurgents entrenched in a neighborhood just beyond U.S. lines.

The fighting quickly escalated from a firefight and an exchange of mortar fire to a series of air strikes and rocket attacks that waxed and waned for more than six hours.

U.S. tanks blasted away from protected positions between buildings, American helicopters skimmed the skyline firing missiles and rockets, and U.S. jets destroyed buildings with at least two 500-pound bombs.


Insurgents attacked American positions with ill-aimed mortar and rocket fire throughout the morning and, after a five-hour lull, attacked again with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades during the afternoon prayer time.

At least one Marine was seriously wounded in the first few minutes of the fighting, and spotters for the striking jets and helicopters said they believed a dozen or so insurgents were killed by bombs.

The day's violence seemed to return to levels that grabbed the world's attention two weeks ago.

Cease-fire appears moot

The fighting also seemed to demolish the pretense of a cease-fire that has kept thousands of Marines out of the heart of the city for more than 10 days while a thousand or more insurgents are thought to remain trapped inside.

Marine officials earlier this week gave Iraqi leaders until Friday to get insurgents to turn in their heavy weapons and turn over those who killed and mutilated four American security contractors on March 31.

Few seemed to hold out much hope the Americans' demands would be sufficiently met to dissuade the troops from launching a final assault on the city.

And Wednesday's six-hour battle proved that the Marines are still on the move and the insurgents are far from disarmed.

"I wonder what this means to the peace talks?" Capt. Kyle Stoddard, commander of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, wondered aloud Wednesday as both sides volleyed mortars over the no man's land between them that has provided a buffer for most of the last two weeks.

Stoddard and the other troops on the front line never received a definitive answer on the status of the talks.

By the end of the day, when gunfire again erupted and a nearby mortar blast shook his compound, Stoddard commented laconically, "No, it looks like we're still just talking."

Battle began at dawn

The first shots crackled at about 5:45 a.m. Wednesday as the 2nd Battalion's Echo Company moved south into the city to clear homes forward of their positions in the northwest corner of the city ---- the bloodied ground of some of the fiercest fighting that began on April 5.

Insurgents raked the advancing Marines with machine-gun fire, then fired rocket-propelled grenades that exploded against walls.

Echo's infantrymen answered with a barrage of small-arms fire and launched volleys of grenades whose explosions sent a thunderous roar reverberating across the city, shrouded beneath a compact ceiling of low clouds.

"These boys definitely want to come out and play this morning!" said Sgt. Warren Hardy, 26, of Colorado Springs, as he watched the red glow of a rocket-propelled grenade sail overhead and crash near a Marine position about 200 yards away.

As if set to accompany their counterattack, insurgents blared militant chants from a mosque set just behind the line of fighting.

A translator with the Marines said the singing called residents to "stand up and fight," "join the uprising," and "drive out the infidels."

The Marines broadcast their own message that resistance was futile and that Marine snipers ---- whom intelligence reports say have terrified the Iraqi fighters ---- held the insurgents in their sights.

Choppers under heavy fire

When an attacking Cobra helicopter took intense fire from the area of another mosque nearby, it fired a Hellfire missile, taking a bite out of the towering minaret.

The AH-1 Cobra and a UH-1 Huey returned again and again to rake the neighborhood with machine-gun fire, rockets and missiles.

When troops reported spotting armed men running back and forth into and out of buildings about 1,000 yards south of their lines, snipers worked methodically to pick off the runners while helicopters circled wide back onto targets marked by white phosphorous mortar rounds.

Air controllers guided in F-16 fighter jets from the clouds and pointed out an enemy stronghold with a laser beamed from a rooftop more than 1,000 meters away.

"We're going to have bombs on the deck in two minutes," warned an air controller from a rooftop where Marines were returning fire into the hollow windows of the sea of brick buildings where insurgents moved with ease.

At 9:20 a.m., the first 500-pound bomb slammed into a building near a rebel-held mosque where Marines said that for days they'd watched insurgents stockpiling what they thought were weapons.

Bombs level suspected strongholds

When tremendous clouds of smoke and dust cleared, the skyline was forever changed: the building vanished from sight.

"They seem to have an affinity for the area around the mosque," said Marine air controller Capt. Roy "Woody" Moore, of Fairfield, Conn., who helped guide the bombs onto their targets Wednesday.

"They returned to the spot a couple of days after we hit it and started running their operations out of there ---- so we hit it again," he said, adding that hours after the fight, his adrenaline still had him "wound up" tight. "Today they were shooting at us from there so they kinda made it easy."

Fighting may ensure offensive

The sound of gunfire and the nearby impact of mortars have become so commonplace at this edge of the embattled city that Marines barely flinched when projectiles hit buildings and crashed into two cemeteries fewer than 200 yards away.

While officially they have not received orders to move to take the city, Marines privately said the fighting Wednesday ensured that a final assault would be the only way to stamp out what they describe as the town's stubborn core of local insurgents and foreign fighters.

Marines cheered the explosions from their helicopters' missiles and taunted and cursed at enemy sniper fire. Many seemed glad the shooting had started again.

When the second 500-pound bomb exploded and sent slabs of concrete and chunks of walls hundreds of feet in the air in a huge fireball, the troops hollered like teenagers at a showing of the "Terminator."

It seemed to be a game that, when the city before them again went silent, the Marines appeared to be winning Wednesday.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/200...4_484_21_04.txt


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Guarding supply lines and braving fire all in a day's work
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification Number: 200442092120
Story by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes



MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq(April 18, 2004) -- The chain of bridges on the outskirts of this Iraqi city don't appear to be much. But they are just as crucial to the success of the mission as bullets or chow.

In fact, the bridges link the bulk of Coalition Forces in Baghdad with their ammunition and food.

"Our job here is to keep the supply lies to Baghdad safe," said 2nd Lt. Brandon T. McDaniel, a platoon commander with Company F, 2nd Battalion 2nd Marine Regiment, serving with the 1st Marine Division in Iraq. "The enemy has already tried to blow some of these bridges and it's our mission to make sure they can be rebuilt and guard the remaining ones from enemy attacks."

The battle-hardened Marines had all faced firefights and mortar attacks. It was the unknown factors about which they were concerned.

"When we pulled in here, we had no idea our convoy would be attacked by mortars, but we've dealt with mortar attacks before, so we knew what to do," said Lance Cpl. Joseph M. Hatfield, 20, also a rifleman with the company. The Miamisburg, Fla., Marine added with a smile, "It wasn't all bad though. We got some."

The Marines spotted enemy mortar positions in a field a few hundred yards away from their own position. They repositioned their forces as the majority of the infantry company opened up on enemy forces attacking them.

"It was quite a sight to see, a whole company of Marines firing on them," McDaniel said. "They were all on line just like at the rifle range and returned a high volume of fire at them."

Marine snipers, mortars, and a MK-19 grenade launcher were enough to convince the enemy to flee.

"My platoon moved to our position before we found out if we killed them all, but if they're still alive, they won't ever mess with Marines again," McDaniel said.

Living with long days broken by quick moments of action was part of being an infantryman, Hatfield said. The bridges aren't the main effort of Fallujah, but without them, Marines there couldn't have fought on.

"I think it's good that we're here," McDaniel added. "If we want mail, chow and other supplies then these bridges have to be protected."

Marines sent out patrols while they maintained their defensive perimeter around the bridges. The patrols kept Marines abreast of any changes in their area and search for enemy planning to damage the bridges.

"We found a cache of weapons in one of the houses here during a patrol," Hatfield said. "There was an AK-47, ammunition and stuff like that. They were planning on hitting us, just waiting for the right time.

"It's good that we found the weapons, because I'd rather see them in our hands than theirs," he added.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2...6A?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

04-20-2004

Marine SITRPT



1st MARINE DIVISION

BLUE DIAMOND HQ, AR RAMADI, IRAQ





Press Release #04-0016



April 18, 2004





Marines battle enemy forces near Iraqi border town


Marines battled enemy forces Saturday near the Iraqi border town of Husaybah.



A day-long series of firefights began around 8 a.m. when a Marine patrol reported they were under fire by enemy forces wielding machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.



Additional Marines, backed by helicopter close-air support, were dispatched to the city and soon came under fire by enemy equipped with rifles and RPGs. The enemy forces were operating from positions in the vicinity of the former Ba?ath Party headquarters in Husaybah.



Marines continued to bring coordinated fire against the enemy force of approximately 120-150 fighters throughout the day and into the night. Enemy casualties are estimated to be 25-30 dead and an unknown number of wounded.



Enemy forces were observed setting up mortar positions. Women and children surrounded those positions, but it is unknown whether or not they were in those positions on their own free will.



Shots were also fired at medical helicopters carrying wounded Marines from the battlefield.



By Saturday evening, contact with the enemy dropped off significantly, however, fighting at the squad level was sporadic in the city.



Marines in Husaybah established blocking positions on routes in and out of the city and have cordoned off the area. Marines are maintaining those and other positions as operations against enemy forces continue.



Five Marines serving with the I Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in yesterday?s fighting in the vicinity of Husaybah. Our thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones. Their sacrifice in the name of freedom further strengthens the resolve of I MEF Marines to secure the future of Iraq.



The heightened presence of I MEF forces and the persistent presence of Marines in areas where coalition forces have rarely operated in the past 12 months severely threaten the very existence of the anti-Iraq forces that have chosen to fight. The enemy has been increasingly drawn to the presence of Marines from the Syrian border to the Baghdad suburbs, and has been heavily engaged throughout the Al Anbar Province.



The names of the deceased are withheld pending next of kin notification



1st MARINE DIVISION

BLUE DIAMOND HQ, AR RAMADI, IRAQ





Press Release #04-0017



April 18, 2004





Anti-Iraq forces fire on Marines from mosque


Anti-Iraq forces took up military positions in a mosque and a nearby building in Fallujah today.



Anti-Iraq forces occupying a building adjacent to a mosque attacked the crew of an M1-A1 tank. The crew returned fire with the tank?s main gun, destroying the structure and killing one enemy who was armed with a rocket-propelled grenade. Multiple secondary explosions were observed.



At the same time, a nearby group of Marines came under sniper fire from the minaret of the mosque. Marines returned fire and no further hostile fire came from the mosque. Also in Fallujah, anti-Iraq forces employing small arms fire repeatedly engaged Marines. The Marines soon neutralized this threat by killing 5 enemy combatants.



Marines continued operations near the Iraqi border town of Husaybah after coming under attack by enemy forces there yesterday. Marines killed four and detained two Anti-Iraq fighters after their vehicle attempted to run a checkpoint on a road leading out of the city. Marines there reported they have taken at least 60 detainees.



Marines operating near Ramadi raided a building for enemy personnel and weapons caches. No enemy personnel were found at the site, but the Marines recovered 40 82 mm mortars, one 100 mm round, one Russian-made sniper rifle and 500 7.62 mm rounds.



Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, captured four enemy fighters from two separate locations in coordinated raids near Ramadi. They recovered three AK-47s, three empty Ak-47 magazines, one full AK-47 magazine, 30 feet of wire attached to a suspected IED command-detonation device and one mortar sight.



-USMC-







1st MARINE DIVISION

BLUE DIAMOND HQ, AR RAMADI, IRAQ





Press Release #04-0015



April 17, 2004





Marines reposition force in Fallujah to assist ambulances
in passage and give hospitals greater access


Marines surrounding Fallujah repositioned forces to allow greater access for ambulances in the city and access to the general hospital.



Marines from the 1st Marine Division surrounded the city nearly two weeks ago. They battled against enemy forces responsible for attacking Coalition Forces in the vicinity of Fallujah. Marines maintain the unilateral suspension of offensive operations in order to facilitate talks between the Iraqi Governing Council, Al Anbar Provincial Council and the leadership of Fallujah.



Once Operation Vigilant Resolve was underway, Marines consistently allowed food, medical and humanitarian supplies into the city. Marines have assisted in the transportation and distribution of these supplies while maintaining a cordon around Fallujah.


Soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team serving under the 1st Marine Division detained four in a cordon and sweep operation near Ar Ramadi. They confiscated two AK-47 rifles, one bolt-action rifle, one shotgun, 800 7.62 mm rounds and 965 mortar primers.



Soldiers in Khalidiyah conducted a coordinated raid on a suspected terrorist cell and detained six suspected of planning and participating in anti-Coalition activities.







-USMC-




http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/...8.7104843152106


Ellie