In a fight without front lines against civilian-clothed enemies, Marines in central Iraq can't easily identify enemies called "The Muj" - short for mujahedeen, or Muslim holy warriors - who boobytrap roads and fire into U.S. bases from nearby hamlets.

"They're watching us right now. They're everywhere, but you can't tell who they are," says Sgt. Alexander Munoz as he leads a 1st Marine Division patrol through one town. "They wave and salute - then they bomb you."

The Marines have stepped up activities in Iraq's restive Sunni Triangle and are laying plans to attack Fallujah, whose rebel leadership is believed a leading force behind the insurgency as well as the hostage-takings, bombings and beheadings.

An attack, if ordered by Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, would likely be led by Marines now patrolling near Fallujah, seeking to clear weapons caches as well as prevent the kind of rearguard action the U.S. forces faced during an aborted attack on the city in April.

U.S. forces hope to cut down the rebellion and boost security in Iraq ahead of nationwide elections scheduled for January.

But as the Marines try to calm the area around Fallujah, they say they face a foe who mixes with the local population, threatening unsympathetic civilians into supporting their goals. And collaborating with the Marines can be deadly.

"The people here are against a wall. They help us and they help the Muj," says Munoz, as the Marines look for roadside bombs - which the troops call improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

"Sometimes they tell us about the IEDs, sometimes they don't. They're scared," says the 28-year old from San Sebastian, Puerto Rico.

Civilians escaping Fallujah - with some rebels likely among them - are taking refuge in abandoned houses and schools shuttered during the fighting. "There has been a large influx of refugees fleeing Fallujah. Overnight, we usually go out and stay in abandoned houses and now we're competing with refugees," says Lt. John Jacobs.

"They're definitely out there in numbers," the 31-year old from Santa Cruz, Calif. says. Food shortages are beginning to show up among the displaced, he says.

The Fallujah displaced provide the Marines an opportunity to ingratiate themselves.

"We came from Fallujah a month ago. We have no money," one Iraqi woman, Nazha Ahmed, tells patrol leader Munoz, speaking through an Iraqi translator.

"This is our family here, but we don't have anyone to help us," says the wizened, middle-aged mother of four.

"Okay. Tell them I'll send this upstairs and the Marines will bring them food," Munoz says to the translator.

A Marine attack on Fallujah in April was called off after widespread Iraqi protest at reports of civilian casualties, but not before insurgents sneaked around and attacked the Marines' rear, touching off a dayslong battle outside the city.

So the Marines are showing their force this time before any upcoming attack on Fallujah, walking through turnip and tomato fields and looking for weapons buried in irrigation ditches as rebel rockets crash in the area.

Children scamper nearby with wide grins, shouting "Give me, Give me."

"'Sup homies! Salaam, Salaam," shouts one Marine as he hands out candy.

The Marines are on constant lookout for the roadside bombs, often connected by wires to a mobile phone, which when dialed sets off the blast. Rebel spotters are presumed to be watching.

The bombs can also be mounted on telephone poles or put in trash, and the Marines suspect the townspeople often know where the bombs lay.

"Another way you know of an IED is that the people run away when we pass by," says Munoz. "Especially the kids."

The Marines quietly enter families' walled compounds, shining their flashlights in corners and looking on rooftops.

Adolescent Iraqi boys hold their empty palms to the Marines, indicating they're hiding no contraband.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you don't have anything," says Lance Corporal Brian Davis.

"A lot of these people are very respectful, they give you water," the 27-year old from Kelseyville, Calif. says later. "But you always have to ask yourself who they really are."

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