Falluja (AsiaNews/Reuters) - U.S. forces have thrust at least one kilometre into rebel-held Falluja and are not far from the Iraqi city's heart, residents say.
"They are coming from the north and they have reached the Hay Naib al-Dubat and al-Naziza districts," one resident said on Tuesday.
Marines and Iraqi troops were preparing to fight their way further into Falluja as part of an offensive to crush rebels and any foreign fighters in the Sunni Muslim city.
The offensive launched after dark on Monday was the second assault in seven months to try to pacify the rebel stronghold.
"We will be trying to push to the heart of Falluja today," said Iraqi Master Sergeant Ghani Abdul-Zahra Yusuf.
Iraq's U.S.-backed interim government see Falluja and its sister city of Ramadi as havens for insurgents that must be retaken to allow nationwide elections to go ahead in January.
"We are determined to clean Falluja from the terrorists," interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said in Baghdad.
The U.S. says 1,000 to 6,000 militants, some followers of Jordanian al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and others Saddam Hussein loyalists, are holed up in Falluja.