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U.S. Forces Iraq to Shore Up Elite Guard
Long article, edited for topic:Iraqi commanders are pulling troops out of the north of the country to back up Republican Guard units crippled by days of U.S. attacks in the south, defense officials said Monday. And American forces are doing what one senior Pentagon official called "aggressive armed reconnaissance" in a number of areas rimming the southern approaches to Baghdad in what could be a prelude to the battle for the capital. A number of units have been sent on probing missions forward of fighting positions to assess Iraqi troop strength and cut Iraqi forces off where they can, two Defense Department officials said. Officials discussed this only on condition of anonymity. A week of heavy bombing has left some of Iraq's Republican Guard units surrounding Baghdad at less than half strength, with the Medina and Baghdad divisions the most severely degraded, Pentagon officials said. The military also was tracking five Guard brigades, including two infantry, seen on the move last week. It was not exactly clear how they were repositioning themselves, though some Iraqis captured south of Baghdad were reported wearing the arm patches of the Nebuchadnezzar Division, which was supposed to have been guarding cities in the north. This has led defense officials to believe reinforcements have been sent from the north to bolster the degraded southern Guard units. Officials said other Iraqi units have been seen pulling back, closer to Baghdad. That's right, Sammy. (or should I say, to whom it may concern) We're running out of supplies, we don't have enough troops, we're stalled in place. Just keep feeding those troops into the meatgrinder, er, front, and you'll win. Heh, heh. Posted by: Steve 2003-03-31 |
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