US commanders are preparing to launch a major assault to seize Saddam Hussein's birthplace in Tikrit in the next few days, even before US troops have completed the encirclement of Baghdad. According to coalition military sources, advance elements of the US Army's 4th Infantry Division (Mechanised) are being rushed into central Iraq from Kuwait, ready to spearhead the attack on Tikrit. US commanders say resistance to coalition forces in southern Iraq is now slackening off considerably, allowing them to pour more troops into the battle around Baghdad and to contemplate pushing north to Tikrit.
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