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 FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. forces closed off the
turbulent city of Fallujah on Monday ahead of a major
operation against insurgents following the grisly slayings of four American security
contractors last week.
U.S. commanders have been vowing a
massive response to pacify Fallujah, one of the
most violent cities in the Sunni Triangle, the heartland of the anti-U.S.
insurgency north and west of Baghdad.
After the slayings of
the Americans on Wednesday, residents dragged the four bodies through the
streets, hanging two of their charred corpses from a bridge, in horrifying
scenes that showed the depth of anti-U.S. sentiment in the city.
Early Monday, U.S. troops closed off entrances to Fallujah with earth barricades ahead of the planned
operation, code named "Vigilant Resolve."
Some 1,200 U.S. Marines
and two batallions of Iraqi
security forces were poised to enter the city to arrest suspected insurgents,
said Lt. James Vanzant, 2nd Batallion,
1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He would not say when the troops would enter
the city.
"The city is
surrounded," Vanzant said. "It's an
extended operation. We want to make a very precise approach to this. ... We
are looking for the bad guys in town."
A witness reported that
a U.S. helicopter struck a residential
area in the city early Monday, killing five people. The bombing damaged five
houses, said the witness, Mohammed Shawkat. There
was no immediate U.S. comment on the report.
A Marine officer,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. forces had a list of targets
for raids. He would not give details.
The California-based
1st Marine Expeditionary Force assumed responsibility for Fallujah,
30 miles west of Baghdad, from the Army's 82nd Airborne
Division on March 24. The Marines said they intended to take a softer
approach with Fallujah residents, hoping to win
popular support.
But the Marines have
quickly found themselves mired in violence. On March 26, Marines and
insurgents fought a lengthy street battle in the city that killed one Marine
and five Iraqis.
The same day as the
killing of the four U.S. civilians, five Marines were
killed when a bomb exploded under their vehicle in a village near Fallujah.
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