Southeastern Consolidation

The image above is an overlay of Fallujah with a large inset of the southeaster neighborhood in which the NYT's reports insurgents seem to be consolidating as of 8pm EST 11/9. It is linked and appears in this morning's paper - 11/10. The thick blue line is Highway 10 running east west through the city. Right click and open image in new window for best view.

Link to the story provided here. Also, see Chester for more details on the battle.

FALLUJA, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 10 - After two days of street-to-street fighting, the American-led assault on Falluja had wrested at least a third of the city from insurgents on Tuesday, capturing the mayor's office, two mosques, a commercial center and other major objectives in the heart of the downtown and advancing past the main highway through the city.

The insurgents continued to fight and withdraw to new positions as American and Iraqi military forces - relying heavily on artillery and air support - pushed in from the north. Battles continued in the south Falluja neighborhoods of Resala and Nazal as the insurgents appeared to be retreating along a central corridor toward the southern fringes of the city.

After nearly 16 hours of fighting, First Sgt. Ronald Whittington, with the First Battalion, Eighth Marines, appeared stunned after five of his men went down in a single moment after dashing through machine-gun fire to cross the road in front of the mosque.

"It was bad, bad," Sergeant Whittington said. "I don't know where the shooting was coming from."

The insurgents could be seen on radar images collapsing southward in a central corridor toward the more modern southern neighborhood of Shuhada, the military said. That area, known to American military planners as Queens, was the source of most of the mortars that rained down on marines and soldiers as they pressed southward in the invasion, officials said.

Comments

[Daisy]

Hey Dog,

Your boy made the big time yesterday. I am waiting for you to make your break. It's a great day to be a Marine and an American.

Keep up the great work. I like the pics. Good stuff.

Semper Fidelis,

Devil Dog Daisy