Inside Fallujah News Today

>> what happened was it created this standoff with coalition forces, with a few iraqi forces on the outside, and then al qaeda insurgents controlled by abu musab al zarqawi on the inside. >> you could watch the country going aflame. it was really during that period of iraq when the american military was stopped from going in and inside fallujah became an al qaeda safe haven. >> you had a sanctuary inside we knew zarqawi was operating. and of course whenever a terrorist or insurgent organization ...

On the outside, and then al qaeda insurgents controlled by abu musab al zarqawi on the inside. >> you could watch the country going aflame. it was really during that period of iraq when the american military was stopped from going in and inside fallujah became an al qaeda safe haven. >> you had a sanctuary inside we >> you had a sanctuary inside we knew zarqawi was operating. and of course whenever a terrorist or insurgent organization controls ground, whenever they control an area, it gives the...

Forces are pounding fallujah and surrounding villages in the heaviest of three days of bombing. at least 31 people have been killed. many more jumped. at least 100,000 civilians are trapped inside fallujah, caught between the bombs and isis. >> well its a wet and chilly start to june in the northeast. parts of the northeast are under a flash flood threat this morning. we want to get right to cnn meteorologist chad meyers. he is tracking the latest on the storms. how is it looking, chad? >> alisy...

Daily violence here, a fear that what is happening just to the west of anbar province could erupt completely, making what is happening here seem mild in comparison. the shia-dominated government of nouri al maliki continues to keep the army out of fallujah, demanding tribes deal with the influx of the al qaeda-inspired fighters of the islamic state of iraq and syria and other extremist groups, as well. so far, its a stand off, all be with it with regular skirmishes and clashes. but the fighters ...

The western cities of fallujah and ramadi. the violence has now been spilling into the capital. people are afraid the whole country could explode into a sectarian war. the threat of instant death is part of everyday life for many iraqis, even just walking out the door can be a very risky move. my co anchor, michael holmes, is reporting from baghdad. >> hi, suzanne. over the last week, of course, we have literally heard the car bombs as they have exploded all around the city. dozens of people die...

American troops are not going to go back on the ground there, how does the iraqi army have the needed strength to be able to push into take those cities back if it doesnt have u.s. support? >> they do have the brute force to do it. they have tanks and artillery. fallujah is a city of 300,000 people. inside there are several hundred, maybe a couple thousand militants but to drive them out using very blunt instruments like aircraft and tanks is going to cause an enormous amount of damage. so can t...

Fight off islamic militants but america will not send troops back to iraq. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left iraq. so we are not obviously contemplating returning. were not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight. >> this comes after a week in which al qaeda fighters took control of the key cities of fallujah and ramadi in anbar province and the same region where more than 1,30...

Ramadi are sunni muslims and they are being attacked by their government, the government which the united states backs and has long backed which is a shiite government and those sunnis in fallujah believe that they have been ignored by the government and that they have been neglected which is one of the big reasons why this sunni extremist group, al qaeda, was able to establish a safe haven or reestablish a safe haven inside fallujah because the same situation happened when u.s. troops were on t...