U.S. military officials have said the city of Fallujah was almost under control of American forces but Iraqi resistance elements continued to fight, reports said on Sunday. U.S. sources indicated that resistance had not been entirely subdued and that it still could take several days of fighting to clear the final pockets.
Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of the 1st Marine Division, said Sunday that more than 1,200 "insurgents" have been killed since the operation was launched.
Overnight, U.S. planes attacked Fallujah and the nearby Amiriyah, and clashes broke out north of Baghdad.
The Fallujah raid killed 38 American troops and six Iraqi soldiers. Three marines were killed Saturday in a blast as they entered a booby-trapped building in the center of the city, while another 13 were injured in a firefight nearby, a marine officer said, according to AFP.
U.S. Marines on Sunday found the mutilated body of what they believed was a Western woman during the sweep in Fallujah. The body was lying in the street covered with a blood-soaked cloth.
AFP said the body was of a blonde-haired woman with her legs and arms cut off and throat slit. The woman was wearing a blue dress and her face was completely disfigured. The marines said she appeared to have been on the street for about two days. (albawaba.com)
