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| Wednesday, 26 March 2003 |
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Coalition forces close in on Baghdad, claim key victories in south BAGHDAD, Tuesday (AFP) Coalition forces prepared Tuesday for the battle for Baghdad, striking from the air at approaches to the city believed held by President Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard, and reportedly notching up key breakthroughs further south. As the battle for Saddam's siege loomed, coalition forces claimed to have overcome relentless Iraqi combatants with the seizure of the key southern port of Umm Qasr, and the crossing of the Euphrates River at Nasiriyah. After five days of fierce and unexpected resistance, a British officer said Umm Qasr, which as Iraq's main seaport is vital to humanitarian relief efforts, "is under total control. The clean-up operation is over." Troops of the US-led force also fought off Iraqi forces at Nasiriyah after sharp exchanges through the night. An AFP correspondent reported more than 100 Iraqi bodies and several burnt-out vehicles on the road north of Nasiriyah. News of the breakthroughs was expected to lift coalition morale following a string of military setbacks and the capture and death of coalition troops Sunday and Monday. In Baghdad, however, Information Minister Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf said fighters killed eight British or US soldiers, downed three helicopters and destroyed more than 30 military vehicles around Nasiriyah and Muthanna. US officials have acknowledged the loss of one chopper. The Iraqi minister also said 16 civilians have been killed and 95 wounded in air strikes on Baghdad and other cities since Monday night. As an advance force of US-led ground troops rumbled across desert sands in convoys of armoured vehicles to positions less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Baghdad, the city came under heavy attack from the air for the sixth consecutive night. The raids this time focussed on suburbs south of the capital, targetting Republican Guard troops defending key access routes to the city in a signal the battle was nearing a crucial phase. Dark clouds of smoke from burning fuel trenches rose up on city outskirts in the early morning, an AFP correspondent said, and warplanes could be heard but not seen roaring at high altitude. US officials said about 30 to 40 Apache attack helicopters made initial runs against Medina division of the Republican Guard as the prelude to what could be an epic tank battle. In a multi-pronged offensive, the US Army's Third Infantry Division was closing in on Baghdad, field reports said. The 101st Airborne Division was moving up from the southwest but facing delays due to sandstorms. US Marines, who were to the east pushing northward, were brought to a halt Tuesday by blinding sandstorms that blackened the skies. Meanwhile,Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has substituted army leaders in some areas for loyal Republican Guard commanders, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The move is designed to strengthen the resolve of the regular army units and prevent desertions, the Post reports, citing a US intelligence official and a senior US government official. US officials also believe that lower-level Republican Guard officers and soldiers have been placed inside regular Iraqi army units and are authorized to shoot and kill Iraqi soldiers seen to be deserting. Putting elite Republican Guard commanders in charge of army units is "an effort to stiffen the spine of their troops," a senior US government official told the Post. |
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