US marines expect to control Fallujah within 48 hours

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AFP) - US marines expect to take complete control of the Iraqi rebel bastion of Fallujah within 48 hours if their assault continues on course, a US military officer said.
"If everything goes as planned we will take full control of the city in the next 48 hours," the officer said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officer said the marines would need up to a week to make the northeast corner of Fallujah safe "and at least 10 days to clear the city."
"For now we are clearing pockets of resistance," the officer said. "We had lots of IEDs," military speak for home-made explosive devices, left for unwary troops, and a favourite technique of insurgents in Iraq.
Acting on the orders of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi after weeks of heavy bombardment, US marines backed by Iraqi troops Monday stormed Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in an assualt dubbed Operation Dawn.
The offensive is aimed at breaking the back of a tenacious insurgency so that elections planned for January can go ahead more smoothly and with wider participation.

11/10/2004 - 12:56 GMT - AFP