RAMADI, Iraq, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Rebels claiming to be part of al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Thursday to have taken control of the central Iraqi city of Ramadi after bombarding it with rockets.
As residents holed up in their homes during the bombardment, masked men distributed leaflets claiming victory for the group run by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the BBC reported.
"Its followers will burn the Americans and will drive them back to their homes by force. Iraq will be a graveyard for the Americans and its allies," one leaflet said.
Ramadi is 60 miles west of Baghdad, and is where U.S. military leaders have been meeting with local Sunni Muslim officials in a bid to quell the insurgency in the area.
Residents said there was no noticeable presence of U.S. or Iraqi forces in the city after the attacks.
However, not far from Ramadi, 2,000 U.S. Marines and 500 Iraqi soldiers launched an offensive Thursday against insurgents in Hit, east of the Euphrates River.
The U.S. military said the town was suspected to be an al-Qaida safe area and base of operations for the manufacture of vehicle bombs.
