IRAQI INSURGENTS

IRAQI INSURGENTS
A look at the rebels
WHO ARE THEY? The bulk of the defenders are believed to be Sunni Muslims from the Fallujah area, but they also include an unknown number of militants from other countries, including followers of Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It's unclear whether al-Zarqawi is still in the city; Sunni clerics insist he never was. His followers have been blamed for deadly bombings and the slayings of foreign hostages.
HOW MANY? Commanders estimate about 3,000 insurgents are dug in their positions in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. The vast majority of the civilian population of some 300,000 is believed to have fled, the U.S. military said.
WHERE ARE THEY? Insurgent defenses are believed to be strongest in the Jolan neighborhood, a poor district in the heart of Fallujah. Sunni guerrillas also control other cities north and west of Baghdad.
Source: Associated Press