Fighting flares in Fallujah

US marines clashed with rebels in the battered Iraqi city of Fallujah today with warplanes dropping bombs and tanks shelling suspected guerrilla positions.

The resurgence in fighting happened on the day whe a first group of residents displaced by fighting were scheduled to return.

It was unclear what caused the clashes, but marine officers said that both sides had suffered casualties.

Two thousand residents displaced by last month’s bloody US-led offensive to retake the rebel stronghold were supposed to return to the city of 250,000 people today and it was not immediately known what effect the fighting would have.

Witnesses said F-18 fighter-bombers struck at targets in the city’s southern neighbourhoods. Tank and artillery fire was also heard.

American officials have hailed the military effort to retake the city in November as a major tactical victory. But many of the rebels are believed to have slipped out during the fighting and are now said to be operating across central and northern Iraq.

In the devastated city itself, US troops have repeatedly clashed with pockets of resistance.