Editing Second Battle of Fallujah (section)

===Insurgent forces===
In April, Fallujah was occupied by about 500 "hardcore" and 1,000+ "part time" insurgents. By November, it was estimated that the numbers had doubled.<ref>{{cite book|title=No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah|author=Bing West|publisher=Bantam Books|isbn=978-0-553-80402-7|year=2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/notruegloryfront00west/page/256 256]|url=https://archive.org/details/notruegloryfront00west/page/256|author-link=Bing West}}</ref> Another estimate put the number of insurgents at 3,000; however, a number of insurgent leaders escaped before the attack.<ref name=nytimes20041108>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/international/08CND_IRAQ.html?_r=1&ex=1114401600&en=2bb5b33cda9ccdd9&ei=5070|title=With Airpower and Armor, Troops Enter Rebel-Held City|work=The New York Times |date=8 November 2004|access-date=27 December 2008|first=Dexter|last=Filkins|author2=James Glanz|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602200017/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/international/08CND_IRAQ.html?_r=1&ex=1114401600&en=2bb5b33cda9ccdd9&ei=5070|archive-date=June 2, 2023 }}</ref>

Fallujah was occupied by virtually every insurgent group in Iraq: al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), [[Islamic Army of Iraq]] (IAI), [[Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna|Ansar al-Sunna]], Army of Mohammed (AOM), the Army of the Mujahedeen and the Secret Islamic Army of Iraq. Three groups, (AQI, IAI and the [[1920 Revolution Brigade|National Islamic Army (1920 Revolution Brigade)]]) had their nationwide headquarters in Fallujah. An estimated 2,000 insurgents were from the Army of Mohammed (made up of ex [[Fedayeen Saddam]] fighters), Ansar al-Sunna and various smaller Iraqi groups.<ref>[[Malcolm Nance|Nance, Malcolm W.]], ''[[The Terrorists of Iraq|The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014]]'', CRC Press, 2014 {{ISBN|1498706894}} {{ISBN|978-1498706896}}</ref>

Unlike what most cities in Iraq saw, the Battle of Fallujah did not have internal disputes between insurgents. The fighters consisted of both Sunnis and Shi'as; Soldiers of the [[Mahdi army]] fought alongside Sunni and Ba'athist groups against the United States.<ref>{{Citation |title=قتال جيش المهدي في الفلوجة 2004 شاهد ترحيب الأهالي وهوسات صباح الجنابي | date=15 September 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f7nnOzzgjM |language=ar|access-date=2022-08-20|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623144711/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f7nnOzzgjM&themeRefresh=1|archive-date=June 23, 2023|trans-title=The Mahdi Army Fighting in Fallujah, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=براثا |first=وكالة انباء |date=2008-05-23 |title=اسرار من معركة الفلوجة عام 2004 كيف تعاون مقتدى الصدر مع البعثيين والتكفيريين وقاتل الى جانبهم |url=http://burathanews.com/arabic/articles/42142 |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=وكالة أنباء براثا |language=ar-iq|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418235752/http://burathanews.com/arabic/articles/42142|archive-date=April 18, 2023}}</ref>
The Iraqi insurgents and foreign [[Mujahideen]] present in the city prepared fortified defenses in advance of the anticipated attack.<ref name="ricks2" /><ref name="lowry2">Lowry, Richard S. (2010). ''New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah''. Savas Beatie. p. 20. {{ISBN|1-932714-77-4}}.</ref> They dug tunnels, trenches, prepared [[spider hole]]s, and built and hid a wide variety of [[Improvised explosive devices|IEDs]].<ref name="ricks2" /><ref name="lowry2" /> In some locations, they filled the interiors of darkened homes with large numbers of propane bottles, large drums of gasoline, and ordinance, all wired to a remote trigger that could be set off by an insurgent when troops entered the building. They blocked streets with [[Jersey barrier]]s and even emplaced them within homes to create strong points behind which they could attack unsuspecting troops entering the building.<ref name="Bellavia2008" /> Insurgents were equipped with a variety of advanced small arms,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://smallarmsreview.com/insurgent-arsenal-of-fallujah/|title=Insurgent Arsenal of Fallujah|last=Cuney|first=Jonathan|publisher=Small Arms Review|date=October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031120256/https://smallarmsreview.com/insurgent-arsenal-of-fallujah/|archive-date= 31 October 2022}}</ref> and had captured a variety of U.S. armament, including M14s, M16s, body armor, uniforms and helmets.<ref name="Bellavia2008" />

They [[booby-trap]]ped buildings and vehicles, including wiring doors and windows to grenades and other ordnance. Anticipating U.S. tactics to seize the roofs of high buildings, they bricked up stairwells to the roofs of many buildings, creating paths into prepared [[field of fire (weaponry)|fields of fire]] which they hoped the troops would enter.<ref name=Bellavia2008>{{Cite book|title=House to House: A Tale of Modern War |first=David |last=Bellavia| page=336 |publisher=Pocket Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84739-118-6|url=https://archive.org/details/housetohouseepic0000bell|url-access=registration}}</ref>

Intelligence briefings given prior to battle reported that coalition forces would encounter [[Chechen people|Chechen]], [[Philippines|Filipino]], [[Saudi people|Saudi]], Libyan, and [[Syria]]n combatants, as well as native Iraqis.<ref name="bellavia">Bellavia, David & Bruning, John. [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781416596608 ''House to House: An Epic Memoir of War''] Free Press. (2007) {{ISBN|1-4165-7471-9}}.</ref>