RAMADI – US troops stepped up pressure on Ramadi yesterday, imposing a cordon around the rebel-held town and making arrests amid clashes with guerrillas, Iraqi police and witnesses said.
Police said guerrillas fired three rocket-propelled grenades at a US base and the regional government office in Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad. There was no immediate word on casualties.Hospital officials said two women were wounded in fighting in the eastern part of the town and ambulances could not reach other reported casualties because of the clashes.Police sources said several people were arrested.Iraq’s US-backed interim government has vowed to crush insurgents in Ramadi and other rebel strongholds ahead of national assembly elections scheduled for January.American troops are widely expected to mount an offensive on Fallujah, Iraq’s most rebellious town, but it is not clear whether they will try to pacify Ramadi at the same time.- Nampa-ReutersThere was no immediate word on casualties.Hospital officials said two women were wounded in fighting in the eastern part of the town and ambulances could not reach other reported casualties because of the clashes.Police sources said several people were arrested.Iraq’s US-backed interim government has vowed to crush insurgents in Ramadi and other rebel strongholds ahead of national assembly elections scheduled for January.American troops are widely expected to mount an offensive on Fallujah, Iraq’s most rebellious town, but it is not clear whether they will try to pacify Ramadi at the same time.- Nampa-Reuters
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