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FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. air strikes on Falluja and sharp skirmishes with guerrillas inside the besieged city Monday threw doubt on a deal U.S. officials had hoped might end one of their biggest problems in Iraq.
At least 10 U.S. Marines were wounded, four seriously.
In a rare reminder of the original trigger for last year's invasion, a Baghdad warehouse blew up during what seems to have been a raid by the force hunting Saddam Hussein's still elusive chemical and biological weapons. Four U.S. military vehicles were destroyed but the casualty toll remained unclear.
With the clock ticking down to a planned handover of formal sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, the U.S.-led occupation forces are confronting twin dilemmas posed by besieged anti-American fighters from both main religious groups in Iraq -- minority Sunni Muslims in Falluja and Shi'ites in the holy city of Najaf.
A deal struck Sunday with civic leaders in Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, aimed at putting joint patrols of U.S. Marines and Iraqi police on the streets Tuesday, when an offer to the insurgents to lay down their heavy weapons expires. Local people were deeply skeptical, however.
"I expect the U.S. and Iraqi forces to be exposed targets for the resistance. No one can control the feelings of the sons of Falluja because they are very angry," said one local man, Abdul Hakim Shaker, shortly before Monday's fighting broke out.
The battle that broke out shortly before noon, seemed to bear out those fears. Residents said guerrillas opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades when U.S. forces began probing into the town from the north.
After Marines replied with heavy machineguns, jets and Cobra attack helicopters flew overhead. Big explosions threw up thick black plumes of smoke. Residents said they saw corpses on the streets and an imam accused the Americans of hitting his mosque.
MARINES WOUNDED
A U.S. reporter in Falluja quoted a Marine officer as saying four Marines were very seriously wounded and six others less badly hurt. Guerrillas had forced them to retreat from two buildings after making them "fight for their lives," he said.
Of the 519 U.S. service personnel killed in action since the invasion in March 2003, more than 110 have died this month, many at Falluja. Continued ...
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U.S. officials estimate there may be up to 2,000 guerrillas in the town, of whom some 200 may be foreign Islamic militants.
Many local people in an area once loyal to Saddam's Sunni-dominated secular regime share a sense of grievance at the way U.S. forces have behaved toward them and are deeply skeptical of the chances for Sunday's deal on joint patrols.
"They will refuse to put up with American tanks and armored vehicles on their streets," said Falluja resident Shaker. U.S.-trained Iraqi police have also been subject to bloody attacks in Falluja.
CHEMICAL RAID?
U.S. troops at the chemicals storehouse which exploded in Baghdad appeared to have included members of the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) hunting for weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Witnesses said at least one of those in the raiding party was wearing what looked like a chemical warfare suit. Residents showed Reuters at the scene two ISG identity cards and two aerial photographs of the targeted house and adjacent buildings marked "secret." The photographs bore the ISG logo.
Witnesses said the building blew up when about 12 U.S. soldiers tried to break in. The troops then left in those vehicles not burned out in the blast, evacuating at least one apparently dead body and four wounded Iraqis.
"There was a huge ball of fire and I was thrown to the ground," said Imad Hashim, a local resident.
There was no sign of special precautions being taken against contamination in the wake of the blast.
A spokesman for the occupying forces said only: "We are aware of an explosion which took place in Baghdad this morning. There are no reports of coalition casualties at this time."
The United States set up the ISG last year after toppling Saddam. It has yet to report finding any of the weapons which were a key argument for the U.S. and British invasion. Continued ...
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
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TROOP REALIGNMENT
The new Spanish government, elected after bloody train bombs in Madrid were claimed by Muslims opposed to the occupation, is pulling out.
Following a deadly few weeks, other allies are considering doing likewise, prompting Britain, which has the second biggest contingent, to consider sending more troops. Ex-Soviet Georgia, keen for stronger U.S. ties, said it would nearly quadruple its contingent to about 550 men.
Underlining the dangers faced by those still there, a convoy including Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov was fired on when he visited Bulgarian troops in Kerbala, near Najaf.
In the southern city of Basra, oil exports from its main terminal resumed a day after suicide attacks forced operations to halt. The terminal accounts for around 85 percent of exports.
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