US shells Fallujah as 13 die in other attacks

US forces shelled rebel holdouts in Fallujah and 13 people were killed in deadly attacks elsewhere in Iraq, as a report by marine intelligence warned the insurgency would grow.

US-led troops engaged in sporadic battles against rebels in Fallujah after launching a major assault to wrest the Sunni Muslim city west of Baghdad from insurgents 10 days ago.

Shelling continued on the outskirts of the city, an AFP photographer said, even after a US marine officer had declared on Wednesday the “the battle is over”.