The crackdown on Iranian protesters continued, as a gang of Basij and other thugs ambushed demonstrators at a Tehran square. It’s having an effect; the demonstrations are getting smaller because people are afraid to leave their houses.

At least two sources described wild and violent conditions at a part of Tehran where protesters had planned to demonstrate.

“They were waiting for us,” the source said. “They all have guns and riot uniforms. It was like a mouse trap. I see many people with broken arms, legs, heads — blood everywhere — pepper gas like war,” the source said.

Around “500 thugs” with clubs came out of a mosque and attacked people in the square, another source said. The security forces were “beating women madly” and “killing people like hell,” the source said.

“They beat up a woman so bad she was all bloody,” the source said in a description that underscores the growing and central role of women in the uprising.

“Women are playing an amazing role in the streets, both in terms of numbers and effectiveness,” according to a member of Mir Hossein Moussavi’s party.

The Iranian capital remained tense Wednesday. Some residents said they were too afraid to talk about the political crisis over the phone to anyone in the United States or Europe. Many protesters debated whether to show up on the streets.

“I am not going outside my house at all! The streets are too dangerous, and just so very busy with police,” a 21-year-old college student from Tehran said. “Ahhhh, when will our lives get back to normal?”

Worried that the government was monitoring their phone conversations, some residents said the Internet was the best way to transmit information. However, the spotty connection made it difficult to rely on the Web.

Here’s one of the latest CNN video reports on the situation:

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