US moves to corner Falluja rebels

Much of Falluja is under US control but fighting is still fierce

US forces in Iraq have kept up heavy air and ground attacks as they pursue rebels in the Sunni city of Falluja.

The assault is now concentrated in southern districts, where small groups of rebels are "fighting to the death", US commanders say.

With the attack on Falluja into its second week, violent clashes continue in Iraq's Sunni heartland.

US warplanes bombed the city of Baquba as clashes between rebels and US and Iraqi forces left some 20 people dead.

Prisoners

American forces are squeezing insurgents into a small area on the southern edge of Falluja, says the BBC's Paul Wood, who is with US marines.

US jets on Monday targeted a mosque where rebels were holed up. Another mosque came under tank fire and there was intense small arms fire as marines moved house to house.

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Col Michael Regner, operations chief for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said Falluja had been "secured" but was not entirely under US control.

Very few rebels have given up, he said.

"They are fighting to the death and they're making it difficult on marines and soldiers."

Col Regner said at least 1,052 insurgents had been taken prisoner, of which fewer than two dozen were foreign fighters.

US commanders have acknowledged that some leaders of the insurgency escaped, probably including al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

A message puportedly from him late on Monday called on insurgents throughout Iraq to mobilise against US-led forces to prevent them repeating their operation in Falluja

Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has declared that the assault on the city has achieved its objective. He also said the leadership of a militant group, Jaish Mohammed, which is linked to Zarqawi, had been arrested during the US-led offensive.

Bombs dropped

Outside Falluja, violence continued in several towns and cities in central and northern Iraq.

Clashes erupted in Baquba, a mixed Sunni and Shia city and a centre of anti-US resistance, early on Monday after rebels stormed police stations.

Insurgents also killed an Iraqi policeman as they took control of a police station in Buhriz, near Baquba.

US warplanes dropped two 500lb (225kg) bombs during the fighting.

At least six Iraqi troops were killed in the city of Mosul as two police stations were stormed, witnesses said.

Aid agencies are warning of a humanitarian disaster in Falluja, which has been without water or electricity for a week.

The Iraqi Red Crescent - one of the few aid agencies operating in Iraq - has offloaded supplies on the outskirts of Falluja after US forces denied it access to the city on security grounds.

'Ghost town'

There are no figures on civilian deaths. It was estimated that up to 50,000 out of the usual population of 300,000 had remained in Falluja, but this number is impossible to verify.

The BBC's Jennifer Glasse, who is also with US forces, says parts of the city she has seen are like a ghost town.

US forces say they have encountered a few hundred residents, who were given water and food and then escorted out of the city.

The US military says it has killed about 1,200 militants. At least 38 US soldiers have been killed and 275 wounded so far. Six Iraqi government troops have also died.

The US-led assault on Falluja is aimed at stabilising the country before planned elections in January.