Fallujah has fallen

US Marines of the 1st Division take up position as they advance in the western part of Fallujah, Iraq, Sunday. The U.S. military’s ground and air assault of Fallujah has gone quicker than expected, with the entire city occupied after six days of fighting.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Explosions and gunfire broke out Monday in Baqouba — the latest in a wave of clashes that has swept Iraq’s Sunni Muslim heartland even as U.S. and Iraqi forces move against the last remaining pockets of resistance in Fallujah.

Witnesses said insurgents were fighting Iraqi police, and explosions and heavy gunfire were echoing through Baqouba’s streets.

The U.S. military said insurgents opened fire on Iraqi police from inside a mosque in Baqouba Monday morning and police forces then stormed and cleared out the mosque. The U.S. command said a weapons cache, including rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, was uncovered inside.

Firefights also erupted just south of Baqouba in the town of Buhriz, as insurgents attacked some police stations and a nearby U.S. base, residents said. The two cities are located about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

On Sunday, U.S. Marines found the mutilated body of a Western woman as they searched for militants still holding out in Fallujah.

The woman could not be immediately identified, but a British aide worker and a Pole are the only Western women known to have been taken hostage.

The week-old offensive in Fallujah, the city that came to symbolize resistance to the U.S.-led occupation, has left at least 38 American troops and six Iraqi soldiers dead. The number of U.S. troops wounded is now 275, though more than 60 have returned to duty. U.S. officials estimated more than 1,200 insurgents have been killed.

On Monday, U.S. forces resumed heavy airstrikes and artillery fire, with warplanes making between 20-30 bombing sorties in Fallujah and surrounding areas. U.S. ground forces were trying to corner the remaining resistance in the city.

American forces had attacked a bunker complex Sunday in the city’s south where they discovered a network of steel-reinforced tunnels and underground bunkers. The tunnels connected a ring of facilities filled with weapons, an anti-aircraft artillery gun, bunk beds and a truck, according to a statement from the U.S. military.

Civilians seeking medical care were told through loudspeakers and leaflets to contact U.S. troops. A second Iraqi Red Crescent convoy was expected to travel to Fallujah Monday with food and supplies.

(AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)