United States occupation of Fallujah

The United States occupation of Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....

began in April 2003, one month following the beginning of the invasion of Iraq. In April 2003 US forces opened fire on a group of demonstrators, claiming they were fired at. Fallujah's mayor, Taha Bedaiwi al-Alwani, said that two people were killed and 14 wounded. Iraqi resistance fighters were able to claim the city a year later, before they were ousted by a siege and two re-invasions by US forces. These events caused widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis in the city and surrounding areas. As of 2004, The city is largely ruined, with 60% of buildings damaged or destroyed, and the population at 30%–50% of pre-war levels.

2003 invasion of Iraq

Although the majority of the residents were Sunni and had supported Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

's rule, Fallujah was one of the most peaceful areas of the country just after his fall. There was very little looting

Looting

Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...

and the new mayor of the city—Taha Bidaywi Hamed

Taha Bidaywi Hamed

Taha Bidaywi Hamed is an Iraqi politician. He was elected by local tribal leaders to lead the town council of Fallujah on April 30, 2003. The position had been vacant after the previous administrators - loyal to Saddam Hussein's regime - fled to avoid being caught up in the 2003 invasion of...

, selected by local tribal leaders—was pro-United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. When the U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

's 1st Battalion / 2nd Brigade 82nd Airborne entered the town on April 23, 2003, they positioned themselves at the vacated Ba'ath Party headquarters, a local school house, and the Ba'ath party resort just outside town (Dreamland)—the US bases inside the town erased some goodwill, especially when many in the city had been hoping the US Army would stay outside of the relatively calm city.

Instability, April 2003 – March 2004

On the evening of April 28, 2003, several hundred residents defied the US curfew

Curfew

A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...

and marched down the streets of Fallujah, past the soldiers positioned in the Ba'ath party (which did not exist any more at that point) headquarters, to protest the military presence inside the local school. A US Army Psychological Operations team attempted to make the crowd disperse with announcements, but failed. According to locals, at this point the US soldiers fired upon the unarmed crowd, killing 17 and wounding more than 70 of the protesters, most of them were young children. The US suffered no casualties from the incident. According to the soldiers on the ground, the 82nd Airborne soldiers inside the school responded to "effective fire" from inside the protesting crowd. Two days later, on April 30, the 82d Airborne was replaced in the city by 2nd Troop (Fox) / U.S. 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment

U.S. 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment

The 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Hood, TX.The Regiment has a history in the United States Army that dates back to 19 May 1845, when it was Constituted in the Regular Army as the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen at Jefferson Barracks,...

. The 3d Cavalry was significantly smaller in number and chose not to occupy the same schoolhouse where the shooting had occurred two days earlier. However, on the same day a daytime protest in front of the Ba'ath party headquarters and mayor's office (which are adjacent to one another) led to the death of three more unarmed protesters. At this point in time the 3d Cavalry was in control of the entire Al Anbar province, and it quickly became evident that a larger force was needed. The now battalion-sized element of the 3d Cavalry (2nd squadron) in Fallujah was replaced by the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division.

During the summer, the US army decided to close down its last remaining base inside the city (the Ba'ath party headquarters; FOB Laurie). At this point the 3d ACR had all of its forces stationed outside Fallujah in the former Baathist resort, Dreamland. After the May 11 surrender of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, the incoming 3d Infantry Division also began using the large MEK compound

MEK Compound (Fallujah, Iraq)

The MEK Compound in Fallujah, Iraq is a large compound used by the U.S. Marines from 2004 to 2009. Prior to Marine occupation, the Iranian dissident group called Mujahideen-e-Khalq used the MEK as a training camp, but turned it over to the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne on May 11, 2003 after the...

adjacent to Dreamland to accommodate its larger troop presence in Fallujah. Under its control, the 3d Infantry Division maintained no bases inside the city of Fallujah.

On 30 June a "huge explosion" occurred in a mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

in which the imam

Imam

An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

, Sheikh Laith Khalil, and eight other people were killed. Residents of the city claim the army fired a missile at the mosque while the army alleged that a terrorist bomb training class had gone wrong. Just a couple of days earlier things had been much quieter, although US troops had been confiscating motorbikes as a preventive measure against terrorist attacks.

Just 2 months after the 3rd Infantry had taken control of Fallujah from the 3rd Cavalry, the entire 3rd Infantry Division was redeployed home. The 3d Cavalry was once again put in control of Fallujah, and again was only able to devote one squadron to Fallujah. Attached to that Squadron was the 115th MP Company from Rhode Island. Unarmored and ill-equipped the 115th MPs kept order with routine patrols and frequent house raids searching for insurgents and weapons caches. In September 2003, the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne was deployed to replace the 3d Cavalry in Ramadi

Ramadi

Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.-History:Ramadi is located in a fertile, irrigated, alluvial plain.The Ottoman Empire founded Ramadi in 1869...

and Fallujah. The 82nd AD policy was to leave Fallujah alone if possible (which had been the same policy of the 3rd ID and the 3rd ACR before them). The 3rd Cavalry was then left to control all of the al-Anbar province except for these two cities.

Approximately one year after the invasion, the city's Iraqi police

Iraqi Police

The Iraqi Police Service are the uniformed Territorial police force responsible for the enforcement of civil law within Iraq.The current organisation, structure and recruitment practice was guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq...

and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps were unable to establish law and order. Insurgents launched attacks on police stations in the city, killing 20 police officers. Beginning in early March 2004, the Army's 82nd Airborne Division commanded by Major-General Charles H. Swannack Jr.

Charles H. Swannack Jr.

Charles H. "Chuck" Swannack Jr. is a former general officer in the United States Army who, once retired, called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.Swannack is a 1971 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point...

gave a transfer of authority of the al-Anbar province to the I Marine Expeditionary Force commanded by Lt. General Conway

James T. Conway

James Terry Conway is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who was the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps...

. The 3rd Cavalry and the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne were then sent home.

Attack on contractors

On March 31, 2004 - Iraqi insurgents

Iraqi insurgency

The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...

from The Martyrs of Sheikh Yassim in Fallujah ambushed a convoy containing four American private military contractors employed by Blackwater USA

Blackwater USA

Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...

, who were at the time guarding a convoy carrying kitchen supplies to a military base, for the catering company Eurest Support Services

Eurest Support Services

Eurest Support Services is a subsidiary of the catering company, Compass Group PLC specializing in harsh-environment large-scale food service and facilities management...

The four contractors, Scott Helvenston

Scott Helvenston

Stephen "Scott" Helvenston was a former United States Navy SEAL, and worked as a security contractor for Blackwater Security when he was killed in the 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush within days of arriving in Iraq....

, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were dragged from their cars, beaten, and set ablaze. Their burned corpses were then dragged through the streets before being hung over a bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

crossing the Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

Siege, April 2004

In response to the killing of the four US citizens, and intense political pressure, the US Marines

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

commenced Operation Vigilant Resolve

Operation Vigilant Resolve

As part of the occupation of Iraq, the First Battle of Fallujah, codenamed Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an unsuccessful attempt by the United States Military to capture the city of Fallujah in April 2004....

. They surrounded the city and attempted to capture the individuals responsible as well as others in the region who might have been involved in insurgencies. One out of every two mosques in Fallujah were used to hide fighters or weapons. The Iraqi National Guard was supposed to work alongside with the US Marines in the operation, but on the dawn of the invasion they discarded their uniforms and deserted. Under pressure from the Iraqi Governing Council

Iraqi Governing Council

The Iraqi Governing Council was the provisional government of Iraq from July 13, 2003 to June 1, 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority...

, the US aborted its attempt to regain control of Fallujah. The US Marines suffered 40 deaths in the siege. Estimates of the number of Iraqi deaths (both fighters and civilians) in the attack range from 271 (according to Iraqi Ministry of Health officials) to 731 (according to Rafie al-Issawi, the head of the local hospital).

The occupying force on April 9 allowed more than 70,000 women, children and elderly residents to leave the besieged city. On April 10, the US military declared a unilateral truce to allow for humanitarian supplies to enter Fallujah. US troops pulled back to the outskirts of the city. An Iraqi mediation team entered the city in an attempt to set up negotiations between US forces and local leaders, but as of April 12 had not been successful.
At least one US battalion had orders to shoot any male of military age on the streets after dark, armed or not.
Some press reports contained anecdotal accounts from Iraqi residents of US sniper

Sniper

A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....

s allegedly firing on unarmed civilians.
In violation of the Geneva Convention, the city's main hospital was closed by Marines, negating its use, and a US sniper was placed on top of the hospital's water tower.

There were also reports of the use of cluster bomb

Cluster bomb

A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...

s by US forces in Fallujah during this time, including reports from Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...

on April 9 and 15, which US State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher

Richard Boucher

Richard A. Boucher is Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . He took up post on 5 November 2009. Prior to joining OECD, he was the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, a post he took up on February 21, 2006...

later described as "totally false." Similar reports came from several other sources who reported on 26 April 2004: "A spokesman for an Iraqi delegation from the violence-gripped city of Fallujah on Monday accused U.S. troops of using internationally banned cluster bombs against the city and said they had asked the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

to mediate the conflict. Mohammed Tareq, a spokesman for the governing council of Fallujah and a member of the four-person delegation, said U.S. military snipers were also responsible for the deaths of many children, women and elderly people." And the Economic Press Review reported on 17 April 2004: "American F-16 warplanes are blitzing the Al-Julan residential area in Al Fallujah 50 kilometers west from Baghdad with cluster bombs."

The ceasefire followed a wave of insurgency activity across southern Iraq, which included the capture of two US soldiers, seven employees of US military contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root

Kellogg, Brown and Root

KBR, Inc. is an American engineering, construction and private military contracting company, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, headquartered in Houston. The company also has large offices in Arlington, Birmingham, Newark, Delaware and Leatherhead, UK. After Halliburton acquired Dresser...

, and more than 50 other workers in Iraq. Several of the prisoners were released within days of their capture, while the majority were executed.

The US forces ostensibly sought to negotiate a settlement but promised to restart its offensive to retake the city if one was not reached. Military commanders said their goal in the siege was to capture those responsible for the numerous deaths of US and Iraqi security personnel. As the siege continued, insurgents conducted hit-and-run attacks on US Marine positions. The Marines had announced a unilateral ceasefire.

Truce, May 2004

At the beginning of May 2004, the US Marine Corps announced a ceasefire due to intense political pressure, many believe it was due to intense resistance from the population. Most of the fighting was limited to the southern industrial district, which, had the lowest population density inside the city limits and the northwest corner of the city in the Jolan district. There were also Marine battalions in the northeast and southern portion of the city. While both sides began preparations to resume offensives, General Conway took a risk and handed control of the city to a former Iraqi general with roughly 1,000 men who then formed the Fallujah Brigade, while acknowledging that many of the people under control of the general were probably insurgents themselves (no verification was provided). The general, Major General Muhammed Latif

Muhammed Latif

Muhammed Latif is an Iraqi major general, and former member of the Baath Party. The city of Fallujah was handed over to Muhammed Latif, replacing the earlier U.S...

, replaced a US choice, Jasim Mohammed Saleh

Jasim Mohammed Saleh

General Jasim Mohammed Saleh was an Iraqi level-2 Baathist who commanded the Iraqi Army under Saddam Hussein. After US forces failed to capture Fallujah, they turned control of the city over to Saleh, and his own private militia in the hope that he could restore order to the city.A former...

, who was alleged to have been involved in the earlier atrocities against Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war

Iran-Iraq War

The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran, lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the twentieth century...

. The ceasefire terms were to give control of Fallujah to General Latif on condition that Fallujah becomes a secure region for coalition forces and halt incoming mortar and rocket attacks on the nearby US bases. Latif's militia wore Iraqi military uniforms from the Hussein era. Another tenet of the cease-fire was the establishment of a Traffic Control Point (TCP) on the eastern side of the city just west of the "cloverleaf". This TCP was constantly manned by a platoon of Marines and a platoon from the Iraqi National Guard and saw almost daily firefights for the rest of the summer.

Inside the city, mosques proclaimed the victory of the insurgents over the United States. Celebratory banners appeared around the city, and the fighters paraded through the town on trucks. Iraqi governing council member Ahmed Chalabi

Ahmed Chalabi

Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi is an Iraqi politician. He was interim oil minister in Iraq in April-May 2005 and December-January 2006 and deputy prime minister from May 2005 until May 2006. Chalabi failed to win a seat in parliament in the December 2005 elections, and when the new Iraqi cabinet was...

, after a bombing that killed fellow IGC member Izzadine Saleem, blamed the US military's decisions in Fallujah for the attack, stating "The garage is open and car bomb

Car bomb

A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...

s are coming repeatedly."

Fallujah, according to reporters who have visited in mid-summer, had since become a sort of Islamist mini-state, with Sharia law enforced by mujahedin. Owners of shops that sold US-style magazine and barbers who offered "Western

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

-style" haircuts were beaten and publicly humiliated. Inter-faction fighting was also rampant. The Fallujah Brigade was soon marginalized and ceased to be more than another faction in what had effectively become a no-go area for coalition troops.

Counter-insurgency, May – November 2004

Throughout the summer and fall of 2004, the U.S. military conducted sporadic airstrikes on Fallujah. U.S. forces claimed that these were targeted, intelligence-based strikes against houses used by the group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...

, an insurgency leader linked to al-Qaida.

In October and early November, 2004, the U.S. military prepared for a major offensive against the rebel stronghold with stepped up daily aerial attacks using precision-guided munition

Precision-guided munition

A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....

s against alleged militant "safe houses," restaurants and meeting places in the city. U.S. Marines also engaged in firefights on a daily and nightly basis along the perimeter of the city. There were again conflicting reports of civilian casualties.

CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

incorrectly reported on October 14, 2004, that the US offensive assault on Fallujah had begun and broadcast a report from a young Marine outside Fallujah, 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert, who announced that "troops have crossed the line of departure." Hours later, CNN reported their Pentagon reporters had determined that the assault had not, in fact, begun. The Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

reported on December 1, 2004, that, according to several unnamed Pentagon officials, the Marine's announcement was a feint—part of an elaborate "psychological operation" (PSYOP) to determine the Fallujah rebels' reactions if they believed attack was imminent.

On November 7, 2004, the U.S.-appointed Iraq interim government declared a 60 day state of emergency

State of emergency

A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...

in preparation for the assault, as insurgents carried out several car bomb attacks in the Fallujah area which killed Iraqi army and police, U.S. Marines and Iraqi civilians. The next day Prime Minister Iyad Allawi

Iyad Allawi

Ayad Allawi is an Iraqi politician, and was the interim Prime Minister of Iraq prior to Iraq's 2005 legislative elections. A prominent Iraqi political activist who lived in exile for almost 30 years, the politically secular Shia Muslim became a member of the Iraq Interim Governing Council, which...

publicly authorized an offensive in Fallujah and Ramadi

Ramadi

to "liberate the people" and "clean Fallujah from the terrorists". Marines, U.S. Army soldiers and allied Iraqi soldiers stormed into Fallujah's western outskirts, secured two bridges across the Euphrates, seized a hospital on the outskirts of the city and arrested about 50 men in the hospital. About half the arrested men were later released. A hospital doctor reported that 15 Iraqis were killed and 20 wounded during the overnight incursions. The US armed forces have designated the offensive as Operation Phantom Fury

Operation Phantom Fury

The Second Battle of Fallujah was a joint U.S., Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S...

.

In the first week of Operation Phantom Fury

Operation Phantom Fury

, government spokesman Thair al-Naqeeb said that many of the remaining fighters have asked to surrender and that Iraqi authorities "will extend amnesty" to those who have not committed major crimes.
At the same time, US forces prevented male refugees from leaving the combat zone, and the city was placed under a strict night-time shoot-to-kill curfew with anyone spotted in the Marines' night vision sights shot.
Witnesses from the city reported large numbers of civilians, including children, were killed by American snipers after being told to leave the city. The US military investigated the claims of abuse, accepting responsibility and offering compensation for some victims.

U.S.–Iraqi offensive of November 7, 2004

Journalists embedded with U.S. military units, although limited in what they may report, have reported the following:

On November 7, 2004, a force of around 2,000 U.S. and 600 Iraqi troops began a concentrated assault on Fallujah with air strikes, artillery, armor, and infantry. They seized the rail yards North of the city, and pushed into the city simultaneously from the North and West taking control of the volatile Jolan and Askari districts. Rebel resistance was as strong as expected, rebels fought very hard as they fell back. By nightfall on November 9, 2004, the U.S. troops had almost reached the heart of the city. U.S. military officials stated that 1,000 to 6,000 insurgents were believed to be in the city, they appear to be organized, and fought in small groups, of three to 25. Many insurgents were believed to have slipped away amid widespread reports that the U.S. offensive was coming. During the assault, Marines and Iraqi soldiers endured sniper fire and destroyed booby traps, much more than anticipated. Ten U.S. troops were killed in the fighting and 22 wounded in the first two days of fighting. Insurgent casualty numbers were estimated at 85 to 90 killed or wounded. Several more days of fighting were anticipated as U.S. and Iraqi troops conducted house-to-house searches for weapons, booby traps, and insurgents.
On 9 November, CNN Correspondent Karl Penhaul reported the use of cluster bombs in the offensive: "The sky over Falluja seems to explode as U.S. Marines launch their much-trumpeted ground assault. War planes drop cluster bombs on insurgent positions and artillery batteries fire smoke rounds to conceal a Marine advance."
November 10, 2004 reports by the Washington Post suggest that U.S. armed forces used white phosphorus grenades and/or artillery shells, creating walls of fire in the city. Doctors working inside Fallujah report seeing melted corpses of suspected insurgents. The use of WP ammunition was confirmed from various independent sources, including U.S. troops who had suffered WP burns due to friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...

. On November 16, 2005 The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

reported that Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable "disclosed that (white phosphorus) had been used to dislodge enemy fighters from entrenched positions in the city"..."We use them primarily as obscurants, for smokescreens or target marking in some cases. However, it is an incendiary weapon and may be used against enemy combatants." But a day before, Robert Tuttle, the U.S. ambassador to London, denied that white phosphorus was deployed as a weapon: "US forces do not use napalm or white phosphorus as weapons."
On November 13, 2004 a Red Crescent convoy containing humanitarian aid was delayed from entering Fallujah by the U.S. army, under the suspicion that the convoy was carrying weapons to the insurgents, as other humanitarian convoys had attempted earlier.
On November 13, 2004, a U.S. Marine with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines was videotaped killing a wounded and unarmed prisoner in a mosque. The incident, which came under investigation, created controversy throughout the world. The man was shot at close range after he and several other badly wounded Iraqi prisoners had previously been left behind overnight in the mosque by the U.S. Marines. The Marine shooting the man had been mildly injured by insurgents in the same mosque the day before, and was later acquitted of the charge of manslaughter in May 2005 on grounds that he had reason to believe the man was armed.
On November 16, 2004, a Red Cross official told Inter Press Service
Inter Press Service
Inter Press Service is a global news agency. Its main focus is the production of independent news and analysis about events and processes affecting economic, social and political development....

that "at least 800 civilians" had been killed in Fallujah and indicated that "they had received several reports from refugees that the military had dropped cluster bombs in Fallujah, and used a phosphorus weapon that caused severe burns."
As of November 18, 2004, the U.S. military reported 1200 insurgents killed and 1000 captured. U.S. casualties were 51 killed and 425 wounded, and the Iraqi forces lost 8 killed and 43 wounded.
On December 2, 2004, the U.S. death toll in Fallujah operation reached 71 killed.
Some of the tactics said to be used by the insurgents included playing dead and attacking, surrendering and attacking, and rigging dead or wounded with bombs. In the November 13th incident mentioned above, the U.S. Marine alleged the insurgent was playing dead.
Of the 100 mosques in the city, about 60 were used as fighting positions by the insurgents. The U.S. and Iraqi military swept through all mosques used as fighting positions, destroying them, leading to great resentment from local residents.
In 2005, the U.S. military admitted that it used white phosphorus as an anti-personnel weapon in Fallujah.

On 17 May 2011, AFP reported that 21 bodies, in black body-bags marked with letters and numbers in Roman script had been recovered from a mass grave in al-Maadhidi cemetery in the centre of the city. Fallujah police chief Brigadier General Mahmud al-Essawi said that they had been blindfolded, their legs had been tied and they had suffered gunshot wounds. The Mayor, Adnan Husseini said that the manner of their killing, as well as the body bags, indicated that US forces had been responsible. Both al-Essawi and Husseini agreed that the dead had been killed in 2004. The US Military declined to comment.

Aftermath

Up to 6000 civilians were killed throughout the operation. Residents were allowed to return to the city in mid-December after undergoing biometric identification, provided they carry their ID cards all the time. US officials report that "more than half of Fallujah's 39,000 homes were damaged, and about 10,000 of those were destroyed." Compensation amounts to 20 percent of the value of damaged houses, with an estimated 32,000 homeowners eligible, according to Marine Lt. Col. William Brown. According to the NBC, 9,000 homes were destroyed, thousands more were damaged and of the 32,000 compensation claims only 2,500 had been paid as of April 14, 2005. According to Mike Marqusee of Iraq Occupation Focus writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, "Falluja's compensation commissioner has reported that 36,000 of the city's 50,000 homes were destroyed, along with 60 schools and 65 mosques and shrine

Shrine

A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....

s". Reconstruction is only progressing slowly and mainly consists of clearing rubble from heavily-damaged areas and reestablishing basic utility services. This is also due to the fact that only 10% of the pre-offensive inhabitants had returned as of mid-January, and only 30% as of the end of March 2005.

Health effects

In July 2010, BBC reported a study by Dr. Chris Busby, detailing increases in infant mortality

Infant mortality

Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...

, such as a 12 fold increase in childhood cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

reported in Fallujah since the attack. It alleges that in 2004, Iraq had the world's highest rate of leukaemia, in which significant increased are also reported. The report also noted that the sex ratio

Human sex ratio

In anthropology and demography, the human sex ratio is the sex ratio for Homo sapiens . Like most sexual species, the sex ratio is approximately 1:1. In humans the secondary sex ratio is commonly assumed to be 105 boys to 100 girls, an assumption that is a subject of debate in the scientific...

had declined from normal to 86 boys to 100 girls, together with a spread of diseases indicative of genetic damage similar to but far greater than Hiroshima

Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

. The study concludes however that the evidence is anecdotal and that the identity of the agents causing the increases in illness were not determined. There is also evidence that the report suffers from bias, and that its methods fail to meet the standards of a legitimate, peer-reviewed, scientific study.

External links

US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah - The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

, (8 November 2005)
Fallujah - The Day After: Video of devastation of Fallujah from Diario (27 May 2005)
Iraq Through the Eyes of Unemebedded, Independent Journalist Dahr Jamail interview with Dahr Jamail - Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...

(28 April 2005)
This is our Guernica – by Jonathan Steele and Dahr Jamail, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

(27 April 2005)
Remembering the First Siege of Fallujah by Omar Khan, DahrJamailIraq.com (15 February 2005)
Falluja in 2004 - Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...

(6 February 2005)
Fallujah: The Real Fall special report on Fallujah since November 2004 - Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

(11 January 2005)
Falluja: City with history of rebellion - BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...

23 December 2004
Raw Video Footage of U.S. Offensive in Fallujah large archive of news network footage and unofficial footage collected by Geoffrey Huntley – fallujah.us
Zarqawi's city of death – Washington Times (29 November 2004)
Two locals were core of Fallujah insurgency – Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

(24 November 2004)
Fallujah's real boss: Omar the electrician - by Hannah Allam, Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...

(22 November 2004)
Telling the Fallujah Story to the World - Military.com (20 November 2004)
Fallujah yields up weapons, videos – Christian Science Monitor (19 November 2004)
Secret Iraqi prisons found - edited by Andrea Botha, Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...

(17 November 2004)
Letter from Fallujah to Kofi Annan signed by Al-Fallujah Shura
Shura
Shura is an Arabic word for "consultation". The Quran and Muhammad encourage Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with those who will be affected by that decision....

Council, a council of insurgent organizations; and by others
The 2004 Siege of Fallujah - An interactive guide - The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Archive of the Iraq Dispatches (by Dahr Jamail, an unembedded and independent journalist) - DahrJamailIraq.com
Fallujah - City in chaos CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...

2 April 2004
An Iraq Interrogator's Nightmare, Washington Post 9 February 2007

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