Iraq's deadly insurgency continues at a ferocious pace [View All]

[leftchick]

http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_2487534

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The insurgency in Iraq - which includes nationalists, foreign fighters and Saddam Hussein loyalists - is still ferocious. Fighting continues even in areas where the U.S. military has launched large-scale operations.
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Although the Marines did not specify where or how their men died in al-Anbar, citing operational security, a top officer there confirmed that efforts to pick through every house in Fallujah are plagued by ambushes and gunbattles.

Lt. Col. Dan Wilson, deputy of operations for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Fallujah, wrote in an e-mail that there are 21,656 structures that the Marines are in the process of clearing.

''Increasingly, we are uncovering tunnel networks, sewer systems and hidden rooms that they have been using to hide in, or to move from one location to another,'' he said. ''What we are uncovering are small groups of insurgents who have managed to move around, or evade our forces.

''In many instances, they are hiding under beds, or in spider holes, then firing at the last second in very close quarters. We have also found evidence of the insurgents getting high on drugs before attacking in a drug-induced state.''
Wilson emphasized that the number of attacks last week was 58 percent lower than during the assault on Fallujah, Nov. 4-11.
''We have the insurgents on the run,'' he said.