Americans Driven out of Ramadi

This morning Iraqi insurgents seized the town of Ramadi. About 400 masked men entered the town and took control of its central streets and administrative buildings.

Leaflets were posted across the town saying that it was under control of an "Al-Qaeda" group. The leaflet also said that "Al-Qaeda" would drive Americans out of Iraq, which would become "a graveyard for the Americans and their allies".

The attack on the town began this morning with a mortar and rocket shelling of administrative buildings and a US military base. Ramadi is the administrative center of the Iraqi province of Anbar. After the fall of Falluji last year, Ramadi became the main area of Iraqi resistance. The gunmen driven by US troops out of Falluji are believed to have found shelter in that city.

Ramadi residents report that there are no US troops on the streets, though normally Ramadi streets are patrolled by US military, who have a strong garrison there. Iraqi government forces have also been stationed in the town.

Representatives of the US military command in Iraq have not commented as yet on the reports of the capture of Ramadi by Iraqi insurgents.