Iraqi troops backed by U.S. Marines have seized Falluja’s main hospital, the first objective in a push to retake the city from insurgents, hours after Iraq’s interim prime minister declared a 60-day state of emergency across most of the nation. Gunfire and artillery echoed across the town overnight Sunday, but it remained unclear when the bulk of the U.S.-led force outside Falluja would begin moving. The hospital — on the western edge of the city — was taken by the 36th Iraqi Commando Battalion with only minor resistance late Sunday, according to a pool reporter. U.S. military officials said the hospital needed to be secured so hospital workers could attend to casualties without facing intimidation by insurgents, and to end its use as a source of anti-U.S. propaganda. Full Story
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