This isn’t a picture of the northern lights. It’s bombs raining down on Fallujah.

The assault, dubbed Operation Phantom Fury, perversely started on Laylat e-Qadr, the most important and holy night of the year for the Islamic world.

In terms of the information war, the hospital was indeed the most strategic of targets. During the first siege of Fallujah in April, doctors told independent media the real story about the suffering of civilian victims. So this time the Pentagon took no chances: no gory, disturbing photos of the elderly, women and children - the thousands unable to leave Fallujah in advance of this week’s offensive, the civilian victims of the relentless bombing.

But this did not prevent the world from seeing doctors and patients at the hospital handcuffed to the floor - as if they were terrorists. Hospital director Dr Salih al-Issawi told Agence France-Presse that the Americans blocked him and other doctors from going to the center of Fallujah to help another clinic in distress; he also said an ambulance that tried to leave the hospital was shot at by the Americans - just like in April, when all ambulances were targeted. The Geneva Convention is explicit: in a war situation, hospitals and ambulances are neutral.

The Pentagon does not do “collateral damage” body counts. But as its relationship with the people of Fallujah now consists of a non-stop barrage of heavy metal, the Pentagon is certainly in a much better position than Fallujah’s doctors to estimate the amount of civilian victims of its own bombing.

Before beginning the assault, the Marines took a little time to play.
I may be violating copyright law posting these pictures - they are at The Revealer along with the story.

The military reports it now controls 70% percent of the city.
The US military had ‘taken control’ of Fallujah in April.
The International Red Cross said civilians who fled the city are in dire circumstances.

Thousands of Iraqis who fled fighting in Fallujah have been without enough food and water for days, the International Committee of the Red Cross has said.

“There are thousands of elderly, women and children who need aid, including water, food, medical care and shelter,” Red Cross spokesman Ahmad al-Raoui said.

“They must be allowed to return home as soon as possible.”

He said the refugees were concentrated in the villages of Habbaniya, Amiriya and Saqlawiya, where there were an estimated 20,000 people alone.

“We don’t have exact figures. The last time we managed to reach the refugees was Thursday,” said Mr Raoui.

He said there were an unknown number of wounded civilians and insurgents inside Fallujah without care.

“The Red Cross is very worried. We urge all combatants to guarantee passage to those who need medical care, regardless of whether they are friends or enemies,” he said.

About 300,000 people, the vast majority Sunni Muslims, lived in Fallujah before US forces started bombing the city a few weeks ago in preparations for an offensive launched on Monday to retake the city from insurgents.

An estimated 60,000 civilians remained in the city, which has been bombed heavily by US planes and artillery.

The US military said it was careful not to cause “collateral damage” and to target only insurgent positions.