WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The commander of the US-led forces in Iraq on Tuesday predicted more "tough urban fighting" inFallujah as about 2,000-3,000 insurgents were resisting the massive US offensive started on Sunday.

    "I think we're looking at several more days of tough urban fighting," Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, the operational level commander responsible for coalition military activities in Iraq, told a Pentagon news briefing through a video teleconference.

    US forces punched into the center of Fallujah and started a house-to-house search on Tuesday. Thousands of US Marines and Armytroops as well as Iraqi security forces stormed into the toughest Sunni insurgent stronghold on Monday following an all-out air strike a day earlier.

    Metz said the insurgents fought the US-led forces in detachments or squads of three to six persons after their outer crust of defense was crushed. A small number of insurgents were captured, he said.

    The general refused to give an exact number of US casualties inthe operation except the general term of "a dozen," saying the number kept changing. Media reports said 10 US troops and two Iraqi troops have been killed since the start of the offensive.

    Metz said at least half of the Iraqi citizens had left Fallujahand US forces "have seen very, very few civilians on the streets."He said he personally believed that some of the senior insurgent leaders also probably had fled, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Enditem