http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20040426/ts_usatoday/fallujaheffortbesetbyarrayofcomplicationsFallujah effort beset by array of complications1 hour, 31 minutes ago Add Top Stories - USATODAY.com to My Yahoo!
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
Marines in Fallujah, a bastion of anti-American resistance, face an enemy that is hard to distinguish from the civilian population.
They also risk solidifying the image of this predominantly Sunni Muslim city of 200,000, already seen as a symbol of Iraqi resistance to the U.S.-led occupation that began a year ago.
Thousands of Marines, backed by artillery and air power, were positioned around the city, 35 miles west of Baghdad, shortly after an attack March 31 in which four private U.S. security guards were killed and mutilated. More than a week of fighting that followed that attack left hundreds of Iraqis and more than 30 Marines dead. Now Marines complain that the two-week truce may have done little more than allow insurgents to build defenses and set ambushes in the city.
The U.S. military is concerned that insurgents will use civilians here as cover to escape without a fight. Guerrillas also could launch attacks from mosques and hospitals, hoping U.S. forces would be reluctant to respond.
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