- In a dispatch posted at 6:40pm Wednesday evening, Mecca
time (7:40pm local time), Mafkarat al-Islam reported that US forces at
4pm Wednesday had launched an attack attempting to break into the an-Nazal
neighborhood in the southern, Resistance-held part of Fallujah. The Americans
attempted to make use of the return of refugees to the city as cover for
their assault, driving a number of refugee families ahead of them into
the neighborhood as human shields.
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- The families became aware that they were being used as
pawns in the Americans' game after the Mujahideen called out to them, telling
them to go back because the Americans were using them as bait in an attempt
to storm the neighborhood. The families therefore dispersed, as the US
forces heard the Mujahideen calls as well, and understood that their little
game was up. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in the city commented,
however that had it not been for the presence of journalists and members
of the Iraqi Red Crescent on the scene, the American troops would have
simply forced the families to go on. This they were unwilling to do in
the presence of witnesses.
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- Afterwards, US forces attempted to break into an-Nazal
neighborhood making use of fighter bomber air support. The Mujahideen stood
up to them, however, sparking a battle between themselves and the American
attackers after the US forces got to al-Kubaysat Street, the first major
street in the an-Nazal neighborhood. There more than 200 Mujahideen all
along the al-Kubaysat Street as well as Shaykh Khalil al-Fayyad Street
attacked the US troops. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported
that the battle was still under way when he filed his report
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- At the time of the report, at least seven US military
vehicles had been destroyed in the fighting and about 25 American troops
killed.
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- The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent also reported that
the Mujahideen was able to recover the bodies of 14 Arab Resistance fighters
who had been killed in the fighting, including that of 55-year old Shaykh
al-Jalil Abu Bakr al-Hijazi from the Hijaz area where Mecca and al-Madinah
are located. He fell on the battlefield after single-handedly holding back
the advance of an entire American column for 15 minutes, until relief fighters
were able to move up to relieve him. He was found dead, his beard dyed
red with blood.
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