Fallujans survey damage, seek sanctuary
U.S., Iraq have millions set aside for reconstruction
 |  A Falluja resident receives medical attention from U.S. Marines at a mosque Friday. |
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 Friday prayers have become a haven for anti-U.S. sentiment.
 A car bombing kills five Iraqi police officers.
 Safe house used by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi followers is discovered.
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FALLUJA, Iraq (CNN) -- Falluja residents emerged from their homes Friday, and described horrific fighting and fleeing from house to house for safety.
Many surveyed the bombed-out urban landscape of Falluja, while some gathered at the Al-Hadra Al-Mumakkadia mosque in the Dubaat neighborhood of east-central Falluja.
Residents of the city 30 miles west of Baghdad said that they had not expected the fighting to be so intense.
The city's population was believed to be between 250,000 and 300,000, but U.S. and Iraqi officials estimated that 90 percent fled before the assault.
A 32-year-old taxi driver said the civilians who stayed behind, not the insurgents, suffered.
"[The Americans] say that they will pay us money to repair our homes," he said. "How will they pay for someone's killed brother or mother?"
The Marines said they are setting up a center in Falluja to process claims and pursue reconstruction projects.
About 150 civilians congregated around the mosque, set up by the Marines as a food and aid distribution center. Small groups approached the mosque carrying makeshift white flags, fearing they would be shot at if they are found in their homes by U.S. or Iraqi forces.
The civilians are mostly young men who stayed behind to protect their homes from potential looting.
Sheikh Abd Al-Karim Al-Zabari stopped by the mosque for food and water after spending three days without supplies. He said he sent his family to Baghdad two months ago and stayed behind to guard his home.
"Falluja was never under our control, America rules us or the resistance rules us," he said.
A Sudanese family was permanently staying at the mosque. Their neighborhood, Baais, had been destroyed, they said. The family included nine children, ages 4 to 16.
One group of two women, a man, and two babies -- one 10 months and the other 11 months -- were taken to the mosque by the Iraqi forces.
The civilians were among 10 family members who fled their home after hearing a call from a mosque a week ago, telling civilians to leave their homes and find Iraqi forces to escort them out of the city.
The family said it was attacked and five of its members were killed, but survivors couldn't say who did the shooting. The five were all wounded -- one baby had suffered a gunshot wound to an arm.
One woman said they crawled to an open door and took sanctuary in an empty house. They lived off the food they found and mixed water and sugar to feed the babies.
Col. Craig Tucker, commander of the 7th Marine Regimental Combat team, told CNN that at least one mosque in southern Falluja had broadcast messages last week telling civilians to leave their homes, leading to residents being shot.
He said he believed it was a deliberate attempt to lure civilians into harm's way. He said U.S. forces at that time had been warning Iraqis to stay in their homes to avoid being targeted.
Returning residents
Residents who fled the city will be allowed to re-enter their neighborhoods after security is complete, rubble and sewage are cleared and humanitarian aid is available, Maj. M. Naomi Hawkins of the U.S. 4th Civil Affairs Group said.
Restoration will take place in a section-by-section process, with the first areas re-opening within two weeks, she said.
Civilians will be paid $2,500 per home for damage repair, she said, and Marines have allotted $40 million for death claims and reconstruction.
The U.S. government has set aside $89.12 million for 99 specific U.S.-sponsored projects scheduled to begin in Falluja before the end of January, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Iraq has identified $50 million for aid efforts, he said.
A U.S. official said reconstruction will start by restoring utilities. After those projects are completed, ambassador Bill Taylor said, attention will be directed to schools and clinics.
On Saturday, an Iraq Ministry of Housing and Construction team will go to Falluja to begin a needs assessment.
Hostage houses
Iraqi forces continue to find hostage in houses in the city, the commander of Iraqi forces in Falluja, Maj. Gen. Abdul Qadar Mohan, told CNN on Friday.
In many cases, the hostage-takers fled, leaving the hostages behind, he said. Most hostages feared that if they were to leave the house, they would be shot by U.S. and Iraqi forces amid the battle.
"Some had written on a white flag 'help' in Arabic and English and stuck it in front of the homes," Qadar Mohan said. "You cannot even imagine the tales of terror that they recount."
He said that they told him their captors were Arabs from other countries, including Morocco, Sudan, Syria and other Gulf nations.
One house contained eight hostages, he said, though he was unable to put a number to the total number of captives rescued in the city.
CNN's Arwa Damon, Elise Labott and Ayman Moyheldin contributed to this report.
