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| Iraq |
| Allies breach Saddam’s ’red line’ |
| 2003-04-01 |
| Edited to just the new stuff. The war in Iraq entered a critical new phase last night as US Marines crossed Saddam Hussein's defensive "red line" outside Baghdad, skirmishing with Republican Guard units in preparation for an all-out assault on the capital. In the biggest air attack yet on what military sources said were control and command centres in Baghdad, B–1, B-2 and B-52 planes combined in a joint bombardment for the first time in US military history. The palace of American and British planes launched the most ferocious of a series of attacks on the Republican Guard divisions south of Baghdad. The main target was the Medina Division south-west of the city. The ground contacts with the Medina Division were described by the US military as "skirmishing" before the main battle for the city. "We are targeting them, we are destroying a number of them, we are taking away their ability to fight," said the Allies' deputy director of operations, Brigadier General Vince Brooks, at US Central Command in Qatar. American forces appeared last night to have taken control of Hindiyah, between the holy city of Karbala and the ruins of ancient Babylon, 50 miles from Baghdad. Up to 35 Iraqi troops were killed in fierce fighting on the banks of the Euphrates as US Marines continued to establish a front line from which to launch a ground assault on the Iraqi capital. Although the fighting at Hindiyah — in which American forces captured dozens of Iraqi prisoners — was the closest yet to Baghdad, a senior military officer at Central Command warned that the real battle of Baghdad was still to come. Sources said the fighting was still the result of probing patrols designed to test the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. "This is the first time we have engaged the Republican Guard. There have been some serious skirmishes and some fierce fighting," said a military spokesman. "Patrols are moving forward and going in, finding out where they are strong and weak. It is quite frankly designed to keep the Republican Guard on their toes. This is not yet the main battle." A US officer said: "Things are so bad for [Iraqi units in the south] that they have decided they have to bring in this valuable unit forward to step up the defence." Things will get bad for this valuable unit shortly. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Triangular insignia, eh? Any pyramids or eyeballs in evidence?... |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-01 16:40:39 |