Troops launch offensive on Iraq town

"US and Iraqi troops swept into the insurgent stronghold of Tal Afar early this morning, conducting house-to-house searches and battering down walls with armoured vehicles in a second bid to clean the city of militant fighters.

In the offensive, expected for weeks, coalition forces initially faced several hundred lightly armed insurgents in the largely deserted city, 420 kilometres (260 miles) north-west of Baghdad and about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the Syrian border.

There was heavy gunfire in the Sarai district - the oldest part of the city and the major insurgent headquarters.

"I can see why the terrorists chose this place for a fight, it's like a big funnel of death," Sergeant William Haslett of Rocklin, California, said of the twisting streets and alleys in the old city.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced the 2am start of the all-out offensive in a statement issued early today."
Guardian