FALLUJAH, Iraq (AFP) - Black smoke curled into the sky above Fallujah as US troops picked through ruined streets, where a slaughterhouse for foreign hostages was found, and clashed with pools of resistance.
A US war plane raked suspected pockets of insurgency in the northeast of the Iraqi city, which the US military claimed earlier to control, as the struggle for the rebel enclave stretched into its third day, with no clear end in sight.
US Major Tim Kracher said the military could have easily rolled in and taken Fallujah quickly using its superior man and firepower but insisted that it was trying to avoid collateral damage.
"That is why you are still seeing pockets of resistance," he said Thursday.
At the same time, television images from inside the city showed tanks rolling over the ruins of buildings and smoke rising around mosques that became the centre of fierce clashes on Wednesday.
"Some people are pushing through the city fast for the information campaign and they`re leaving the real work for us, an unamed marine officer said.
In the fight, a US fighter plane attacked the al-Khalifa al-Rached mosque, which insurgents had turned into an operating base, after Iraqi infantry failed to seize the building, a spokesman for Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said.
Iraqi forces "in the first instance tried to dislodge the rebels with small arms fire but had to resort to a US aerial attack," he said in a statement.
US-led forces claim to have control of 70 percent of Fallujah and said Wednesday that, if the battle went as planned, they would have total command within 48 hours, even as insurgents regrouped and lashed back.
"Some people might wonder why we do not just finish the job," said Major General Abdul Qader Mohan, the chief Iraqi military spokesman for the assault.
"Any speed will affect the civilians and we want to keep civilian casualties at a minimum," he told a news conference at Camp Fallujah, the main US military base outside the city.
After pounding Fallujah with a punishing torrent of air and ground fire on the first night of battle, US troops poured into the city from the northeast and northwest, pushing south and fanning out in tanks and on foot.
Moving house-to-house through the rubble-strewn streets, marines and soldiers faced booby-trapped buildings, mortar fire, roadside bombs and snipers as the rebels resorted to guerrilla tactics to hamper their advance.
But despite the resilience of some fighters, the overall resistance -- expected to number some 2,000 to 2,500 rebels -- was less effective than expected, with one marine officer describing it as "unorganised".
"They fight, but their resistance is limited because of the immense pressure we are putting on them," said Mohan.
At least 10,000 US troops from a pool of 20,000, who have been gathering outside Fallujah since the middle of October, have fanned out inside the city since Monday, backed by 2,000 Iraqi soldiers.
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi launched the largest military operation in Iraq since last year`s war as part of his efforts to crush a potent insurgency that bludgeons his US-backed government on a daily basis.
Victory in Fallujah, portrayed as the epicentre of the rebellion, may come at a heavy price, both on the military and the civilian side.
Eleven US soldiers and two Iraqi troops have died since the offensive was launched, along with scores of rebels, the military said. The casualties could not be independently verified.
There are no clear figures about how many civilians have been caught in the crossfire, even though about two-thirds of Fallujah`s estimated 300,000-strong population is thought to have fled ahead of the fighting.
The Red Crescent said it had serious concerns about medical facilities in the city after US and Iraqi troops seized the general hospital on Monday, before the full-scale offensive was launched.
With the hospitals in US hands, the rebels said they were giving first aid to some victims in homes where they could. The dead were being buried in gardens.
The Red Crescent plans to send a convoy of five to six trucks laden with food into Fallujah, where a strict curfew has been imposed and water and electricity supplies cut.
11/11/2004 - 11:45 GMT - AFP