Militant groups control 60 percent of Fallujah: witnesses

By Muhammad Abu Nasr, Free Arab Voice; Edited By JUS - Fighting between the Mujahideen of Fallujah and the US attackers yesterday raged in the southern neighborhoods of ash-Shuhada’, al-Jubayl, and an-Nu‘aymiyah, and in the industrial zone. The Mujahideen were able to thwart an advance on the industrial zone and at days end, still control more than 60% of the city.

In a dispatch posted at 9:30pm Saturday night Mecca time, the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in Fallujah reported that fighting between the Mujahideen and the US attackers on Saturday was concentrated in the southern neighborhoods of ash-Shuhada’, al-Jubayl, and an-Nu‘aymiyah, and in the industrial zone. The Mujahideen are still holding their positions and the current situation is a source of optimism for the fighters.

Saturday’s fighting was noteworthy for the fact that intermittent, lasting an hour, then stopping, then resuming and flaring up again and then stopping again for awhile, before starting again, and so on.

The Mujahideen uses its weapons sparingly, firing four mortar rounds at four specific US vehicles, or one rocket shell for one vehicle when the vehicles open fire from one direction. If the source of US fire is a concentration of tanks, the Mujahideen shoot intensively at the source of the incoming fire.

On Saturday, the Mujahideen used a large number of 60mm and 82mm mortar rounds, as well as C5K rockets, thwarting a US attempt to break into the industrial zone, halting the American advance and pushing the US forces back to their former positions. Both sides exchanged gunfire in the other neighborhoods, ash-Shuhada’, al-Jubyal and an-Nu‘aymiyah, matter of exchanging gunfire and the US forces made other attempt to advance in these areas.

Fierce fighting broke out in the al-‘Askari neighborhood in the eastern part of Fallujah, however the Mujahideen were able to hold its position and still controls little more than half of the city. This is what Shaykh ‘Abdallah al-Jannabi, the Chairman of the Consultative Council of the Mujahideen of Fallujah said when he told the press that the Mujahideen controls 60 percent of the city. A leader of one of the Mujahideen organizations in al-Jubayl said, “our ranks are holding up and holding together. We can see the effects of the prayers of the Muslims for us in these battles.”

Mafkarat al-Islam’s correspondent outside Fallujah reported that the US vehicles ringing Fallujah on Saturday stayed firmly planted in their places – a very important point for the people of Fallujah, since the movement of the vehicles means that the US forces are embarking on some concerted effort to break into the city. When the vehicles stay put, it means that there is a lull in the American efforts to advance on their city.

US forces withdrew 250 heavy vehicles from the concentration around the city during the last four days, sending them off in the direction of Mosul in the north of the country, where the Mujahideen has opened a new front of action against the occupation forces.

The people of Iraq hope that the Mujahideen will continue to defy the American aggressors for another week because that will show, according to political observers, the collapse of American power, JUS reported.

Meanwhile Residents of neighboring Saqlawiya village have told Aljazeera that they helped bury the bodies of 73 women and children who were burned beyond recognition. "We buried them here, but we could not identify them because they were charred by the use of napalm bombs used by the Americans," said one Saqlawiya resident in footage aired on Sunday, Aljazeera reported.

There have been no reports of the US military using napalm in Falluja and no independent verification of the above statements.

It remains unclear how the women and children were killed.

The resident, who helped in the burial, told Aljazeera all of the bodies were buried in one mass grave.

Late last week, US troops in Falluja called on some residents who had fled the fighting to return and help bury the dead. However, according to other residents who managed to flee the fighting after US forces entered the city, hundreds of bodies still lay in the streets and were being fed on by packs of wild dogs.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Falluja remained too dangerous to secure proper retrieval and burial of corpses.

"We could not enter Falluja city so far due to the security measures and the continuing battles," Muain Qasis, ICRC spokesman in Jordan, told Aljazeera.

When asked about the security measures, Qasis said: "In order to carry out an independent and acceptable humanitarian action, we must have guarantees ensuring the safety of the humanitarian staff.

"The humanitarian situation in Falluja city is very difficult.

"The city is still suffering shortage of public services. There is no water or electricity. There is no way to offer medical treatment for the injured families still surrounded inside the city," he added.

In related news, the US military in Falluja announced that it had released 400 of the 1450 men it had detained in the war-ravaged city.

"More than 400 detainees have since been released after being deemed to be non-combatants," the military said, adding than 100 more were due to be released on Sunday, Aljazeera reported.

Agencies

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