A US CENTCOM news release reports that Iraqi forces, working in conjunction with US Marine and Army units, have retaken numerous government buildings and mosques in the town of Fallujah.  As part of Operation Al Fajr (Arabic for 'dawn'), the Iraqis seized the mayor's office at about 4:00 AM local time, and the commander of Iraqi ground forces in the area, Maj. Gen. Abdul Qader Mohammed Jassim, was named as the interim military governor of the Western Anbar province until a civilian leader can be appointed.

Maj. Gen. Qader said that reports from the frontline confirmed that, 'Foreign fighters are the real terrorists here.'  The press release has an excellent summary of the operations of the major Iraqi units, including the seizure of the Hydra Mosque by the 2d Battalion of the 1st Iraqi Brigade along with US Marine units.  Quelling the fears of the major press about the potential for a large number of civilian casualties and the possibility that terrorists may slip away, a US Marine official said,

'We have no information of anyone [civilians] being hurt and we have no reports of anyone trying to get out of the city.'

UPDATE:

The AP reports  that Maj. Gen. Qader has confirmed that Iraqi forces have found "hostage slaughterhouses" in Fallujah where foreign captives were held and killed, the commander of Iraqi forces in the city said Wednesday.

This only shows the true nature of these so—called 'insurgents', just as was revealed in the aftermath of the fight for Najaf .  No wonder Iraqis have willingly joined the fight in both Najaf and Fallujah to rid their country of this vermin.  It's time for the legacy media to explain how a 'popular uprising' could produce such barbaric cruelty against their own citizens and the people helping rebuild Iraq, but I'm not holding my breath.

Doug Hanson   11—10—04