IRAK fotosFALLUJA

BBC
FALLUJA ASSAULT FACTS
Up to 15,000 US and Iraqi troops involved
Estimated 3,000 Iraqi insurgent and foreign fighters in city
Estimated 50,000 civilians remain out of usual population of some 300,000

US forces say they have taken control of the district of Jolan, just north of the centre.

However, a witness told the BBC that US forces were still fighting for control there at midday.

Villages to the west of the city, thought by the US to be clear of insurgents, are also reporting sniper, mortar and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

Concerns are growing about the humanitarian situation in and around Falluja.

Red Crescent spokeswoman Firdoos al-Ubadi said Falluja was a "disaster", with doctors unable to reach most Iraqi casualties and medical equipment virtually non-existent.

There is little information on the number of military or civilian casualties in Falluja.

At least 13 US troops have been killed so far, according to military reports pieced together by Reuters.

home.kyodo.co
U.S. C-130 plane hit by missile in Iraq in early Nov.
TOKYO, Nov. 10 Kyodo - A U.S. C-130 transport aircraft was hit by a missile in northern Iraq earlier this month, forcing it to make an emergency landing with one of its four engines on fire, Japanese government sources said Tuesday.
It was the first time for a U.S. C-130 to be hit in Iraq, according to the Japanese Defense Agency. This raises concerns about possible attacks on the three Japanese Air Self-Defense Force C-130s that have recently increased flights transporting armed U.S. soldiers between Kuwait and Iraq.

The sources said the missile penetrated the No. 1 propeller engine on the outside of the C-130's left wing and the plane made an emergency landing in a nearby airfield about 10 minutes later. The roughly 60 U.S. soldiers aboard were picked up by a rescue plane about four hours later.
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