| The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that US aircraft had destroyed 10 Iraqi artillery pieces in southern Iraq. These artillery pieces, the Pentagon said, could have "obstructed" US-led forces in their advance on Baghdad. "This is part of the final preparatory move before the invasion begins," a Pentagon official told reporters. Pentagon officials said US-led forces would roll back or destroy any Iraqi military presence in the southern no fly zone, a 500-km stretch of desert which goes straight to Baghdad. US and British soldiers are likely to use this route on their way to Baghdad after the invasion begins. "We want to make this stretch of land completely safe for (invading) U.S. and British forces," a Pentagon official said. |