Marines urge weapons handover in Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- U.S. Marines warned guerrillas in this violence-wracked city Thursday they have only days to hand over their heavy weapons or face a possible American attack. So far, the insurgents have turned in mainly dud rockets, rusty mortar shells and grenades labeled "inert."\nLt. Gen. James Conway said the battle could be "costly" if Marines launch a new assault to uproot insurgents from Fallujah, saying foreign fighters in the city have been reinforcing their positions and have no interest in surrendering.\nThe stark warning came two days after city leaders called on insurgents to hand over their heavy weapons in return for a U.S. pledge to hold back on plans to storm Fallujah and allow the return of families that fled the city.\nNow Marines have halted the return of families because of the failure to disarm and the desire to have fewer civilians in the city if fighting resumes. More than a third of Fallujah's 200,000 people fled to Baghdad, Iraq, and elsewhere during the fighting that began April 5.\nEarly Thursday, Marines launched a major assault on the village of Karma 10 miles northeast of Fallujah, in a second attempt to put down guerrillas there. "The enemy is taking casualties; we are not," Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis said.\nA battle in the village last week killed 100 insurgents, according to Marine commanders. The two days of fighting in palm groves and over canals was so intense that wounded Marines were sent out to fight.\nIn Baghdad, masked gunmen shot and killed a South African security contractor working for the U.S.-led occupation administration and severely wounded his translator Thursday, a U.S. spokesman said. The shooting took place near northern Baghdad's Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Azamiyah, where gunmen have been active.\nThe violence across Iraq has interrupted some infrastructure repairs and forced giant firms Siemens AG, Bechtel and General Electric to suspend some reconstruction projects, threatening to undermine the critical U.S. goal of rebuilding Iraq.\nEven a U.S. government aid agency that oversees some reconstruction projects has been affected. About 10 percent of its non-Iraqi employees are outside the country, either sent out of Iraq or unable to return because of the violence.\nThe upswing in violence has made April the bloodiest month for the American-led military since the invasion of Iraq. At least 100 soldiers and five American civilian contractors have been killed. Dozens of foreigners have been abducted in a wave of kidnappings, with about 15 still captive.