Soldiers Killed in Separate Incidents, Aircraft Pound Fallujah

A 13th Corps Support Command soldier was killed and five others were injured today in an attack on a Multinational Force Iraq base near Fallujah. The injured soldiers were taken to a military medical facility on Camp Fallujah; one returned to duty after treatment, and no report was available on the other soldiers' condition.

In Tikrit, a 1st Infantry Division soldier was killed and another was wounded when their vehicle was struck with an improvised explosive device near Balad on Nov. 4. The wounded soldier was taken to a military treatment facility. No report was available on the soldier's condition.

For the second straight day, Air Force bombers struck targets in Fallujah, Iraq, "giving insurgents there notice that the possibility of a full-scale assault on the city is imminent," a written statement from Multinational Force Iraq said today.

Late in evening Nov. 4 and early this morning, U.S. military aircraft launched several air strikes against fortified barricades throughout Fallujah.

Around 8 p.m. Nov. 4, Air Force aircraft supporting Marine Corps elements destroyed two buildings fortified by armed insurgents in the southeastern part of the city. At 8:25 p.m., another strike by U.S. Marine Corps aircraft destroyed barriers in the same area. Moments later, an IED-laden offensive position in the southeast part of the city was hit, and secondary explosions were observed.

Later, Air Force aircraft supporting a Marine element destroyed barricaded fighting positions in the northern part of the city. The bombing continued early this morning, with Marine aircraft using precision munitions to destroy a weapons cache.

Military officials also reported evidence that indicates insurgents may be targeting children.

An Army unit assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force discovered and defused an explosive-laden youth center in Ramadi Nov. 4. The building was rigged to detonate and potentially kill dozens of Iraqi children.

After a thorough investigation of the youth center, the soldiers discovered the explosives were rigged to detonate three ways: through a light switch, by remote control and by wiring that ran from the youth center to the nearby Al- Haq Mosque, where the unit discovered the firing mechanism.

Meanwhile, at another mosque, soldiers discovered more than two tons of ammunition, explosives, mortar systems and rocket-propelled grenades. Artillery rounds, assault rifles and various IED-making materials were found as well. Fifty suspected insurgents were detained during the sweep.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)