Forces pound Sunnis

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi police moved into the streets of the besieged city of Fallujah today after hours of pounding by U.S. warplanes and artillery on Sunni insurgents in a show of force that comes amid U.S. demands for insurgents to surrender or face death.
The strikes late Tuesday smashed homes and sent huge plumes of smoke and orange flames into the night sky over Fallujah, where a fragile cease-fire with insurgents was extended.
U.S. and Iraqi forces are expected to begin joint patrols Thursday, a step aimed at calming tensions in the city. Some U.S. officers have expressed concerns that the patrols could be targeted by militants who refused to surrender their weapons.
"We received orders to spread in the streets because U.S. soldiers are going to enter the city soon," said Iraqi security officer Lt. Mohammed Khalaf. Today's Iraqi police patrols in Fallujah were separate from the planned joint patrols.
Heavier fighting
Tuesday's fighting appeared far heavier than the previous night's clashes, in which eight insurgents and a U.S. Marine were killed, suggesting that U.S. forces were trying to wear down gunmen in the Jolan neighborhood, a district of narrow alleyways and ramshackle houses that is considered a core of militant resistance.
An AC-130, a powerful gunship that carries artillery and machine guns, unleashed a barrage of fire including shells from a 105 mm howitzer against insurgent targets. Gunfire and explosions reverberated for nearly two hours, and an orange glow shone over the area while showers of sparks descended like fireworks.
Iraqi hospitals reported that two people were injured in the fighting. Militants, however, often do not evacuate their casualties to hospitals fearing that the injured could be arrested by American forces. There was no information on any Iraqis being killed.
At least eight destroyed houses could be seen in the Jolan neighborhood after the fighting ended.
A U.S. soldier died Tuesday in Baghdad, raising the U.S. death toll for April to 115 -- the same number killed during the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein last year. Up to 1,200 Iraqis also have been killed this month.
U.S. aircraft dropped white leaflets over Fallujah before the shelling began, calling in Arabic on insurgents to give up.
"Surrender, you are surrounded," the leaflets said. "If you are a terrorist, beware, because your last day was yesterday. In order to spare your life, end your actions and surrender to coalition forces now. We are coming to arrest you."
Truce
On the city's main road today, several families were seen fleeing the city. The fighting came at the end of a truce in which Marines outside the city promised not to assault Fallujah if gunmen gave up their weapons. U.S. commanders have said that insurgents have only given up rusty or unusable weapons.
"I was pinning some hope on the truce. The American air bombing dashed my hopes," Ali Muzel said as he escorted his wife and five children to Baghdad.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that continuing negotiations in Fallujah was "worth the try."
"I think that realistically if you've got some very tough people in a city that are terrorists ... that you have to expect that they're not going to be terribly cooperative," he said. "Now, does that mean that something can't be worked out? No."
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said that the coalition hasn't completely given up on a cease-fire. But he said in a speech to a group of disabled veterans in New York that "we don't have unlimited patience."
More battles
Other fighting broke out Tuesday in Baghdad and in the south, where U.S. forces are in a standoff with militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose forces have taken control of several cities in southern Iraq.
U.S. forces killed 64 Iraqis on Monday and Tuesday in battles with militiamen outside the Shiite holy city of Najaf, U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said. Sadr's forces are powerful in Najaf.
The first fight came Tuesday afternoon when Shiite militiamen fired on a U.S. patrol. In the ensuing firefight, seven insurgents were killed. Hours later, an M1 tank was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades. A heavy battle erupted, during which warplanes destroyed an anti-aircraft gun belonging to the militia and 57 gunmen were killed, Kimmitt said.
Najaf hospitals listed 37 dead, all young men of fighting age, suggesting they may have been militiamen. Al-Sadr aides said civilians also died, but could not say how many.