Tuesday, April 06, 2004
FALLUJAH, Iraq — An "extremely intense" battle is taking place in Ramadi (search), another Sunni Triangle hotbed of guerrilla activity 24 miles west of Fallujah, Pentagon and military officials told Fox News on Tuesday.
At least 100 fighters in the army of Muqtada al-Sadr (search), the fiery anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric wanted on a murder charge, charged a U.S.-led coalition compound, officials said.
A defense official told Fox News that there have been "significant" U.S. deaths from the fighting in Ramadi.
Fighting was so intense that commanders went to the unit headquarters to pull people who wouldn't normally fight into the combat, military sources said.
The fighting — the worst seen in the area or Iraq in recent months — has left some American casualties, officials said. One Marine estimated some 80 people were killed in initial exchanges but it was unclear how many of those were Iraqi. Further details about the extent of casualties were not immediately known.
"This is not like any other firefight we've seen so far," military sources in Iraq said. "There are bullets flying all over the place."