Hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops in tanks and armored Humvees surrounded the city of Fallujah, Iraq, on Monday, ready to launch a crackdown on insurgents after a mob killed four Americans and mutilated their bodies.
Explosions and gunfire were heard from the city — including a string of up to 30 blasts, apparently shelling, late Monday — as Marines met resistance while probing the outer neighborhoods of the city with reconnaissance missions.
At least one Iraqi gunman was killed in the exchanges. A U.S. Marine was killed in the area earlier Monday.
Troops dug trenches on the city's edges, sealed off roads in and out and imposed a nighttime curfew.
U.S. commanders have been vowing a massive response to pacify Fallujah after the slaying of the four American civilians — who were under contract to the U.S. coalition as security guards — on Wednesday. Source.
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