Showdown in Fallujah

Smoke rises during fighting between U.S. forces and Iraqi insurgents, Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2004.

U.S. soldiers search for insurgents in this TV image as U.S. and Iraqi forces exchanged fire with pockets of resistance in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 10, 2004. Throughout the day, Americans hit the militants with artillery and mortars, and warplanes fired on the city's main street and market as well as the insurgent stronghold of Jolan, one of several neighborhoods where troops were skirmishing with militants.

An Iraqi boy walks near a burning oil pipeline on the outskirts of Fallujah, Iraq, Oct. 10, 2004. Insurgents set off the fire using rocket-propelled grenades.

U.S. soldiers carry an injured comrade in this TV image as U.S. troops, along with Iraqi forces, powered their way into the center of the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004, overwhelming small bands of guerrillas with massive force, searching homes along the city's deserted, narrow passageways and using loudspeakers to try to goad militants onto the streets.

A soldier fires his weapon in this TV image as U.S. troops, along with Iraqi forces, powered their way into the center of the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004.

A member of Charlie Company of the U.S. Marines First Division, Eighth Regiment, smokes a cigarette in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004.

Members of Charlie Company of the First Marine Division, Eighth Regiment, of the U.S Marines, walk past a dead insurgent in Fallujah, Iraq.

Marines move down a street in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004.

U.S. Marines of the First Division arrest Iraqi men at the railroad station in Fallujah, Iraq, as U.S. Army and Marine units pounded the city with air strikes and artillery, Nov. 9, 2004. U.S. and Iraqi units roared into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah through a breach near the railroad station.

Iraqi army troops arrive at the railroad station in Fallujah, Iraq, as the U.S. Army and Marines pounded the city with air strikes and artillery, Nov. 9, 2004. They roared into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah through a breach near the railroad station at dawn Tuesday.

Smoke billows over a building topped by an Iraqi in the center of Fallujah, Iraq, as U.S. Army and Marine units, along with Iraqi forces, pounded the city with air strikes and artillery, Nov. 9, 2004.

An unidentified soldier arrests an Iraqi man at the railroad station in Fallujah, Iraq, as U.S. Army and Marine units pounded the city with air strikes and artillery, Nov. 9, 2004. U.S. and Iraqi units roared into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah through a breach near the railroad station.

Iraqi soldier guards the railroad station as smoke rises during U.S. air strike against insurgent targets in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004.

Smoke billows from Fallujah, Iraq, as U.S. Army and Marines pounded the city with air strikes and artillery, Nov. 9, 2004. U.S. Army and Marine units entered the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah through a breach near the railroad station at dawn Tuesday.

U.S. Army soldiers arrive at the railroad station in Fallujah, Iraq, as U.S. Army and Marines pounded the city with air strikes and artillery, Nov. 9, 2004.

Smoke billows from the railroad station in Fallujah, Iraq, as U.S. Army and Marine pounded the city with air strikes and artillery, Nov. 9, 2004. U.S. Army and Marine units roared into the insurgent stronghold through a breach near the railroad station at dawn Tuesday.

A night-scope vision image taken early Tuesday morning, Nov. 9 2004, from just outside the northeast sector of Fallujah, shows a barrage of fire in the city as U.S. troops launched an offensive to destroy key rebel strongholds in the beleaguered Iraqi city. The images were shot by embedded reporters accompanying Army Task Force 22.

Insurgents, using small arms and mortars, launch an attack on U.S. forces in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2004. American troops fought their way into the western outskirts of Fallujah on Monday, seizing a hospital and two bridges over the Euphrates River in the first stage of a major assault on the insurgent stronghold.

An image made from TV of a U.S. soldier breaking open a door as troops enter Fallujah hospital, in Iraq, Nov. 8, 2004. U.S. forces stormed into western districts of Fallujah, seizing the main city hospital and securing two key bridges over the Euphrates River in what appeared to be the first stage of the long-expected assault on the rebel stronghold.

U.S. Marines of the 1st Division take position on the outskirts of Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2004.