Coalition Moves to Isolate Baghdad
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
April 5, 2003, 6:27 AM EST
SOUTH OF BAGHDAD, Iraq Coalition Moves to Isolate Baghdad
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Coalition Moves to Isolate Baghdad
Coalition Forces Seek to Isolate Baghdad
Saddam's Fedayeen Hit Baghdad Streets
Allies Launch Air Support Over Baghdad
Forces Use Explosives at Baghdad Airport
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
April 5, 2003, 6:27 AM EST
SOUTH OF BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. ground forces took their first steps into the Iraqi capital Saturday as troops moved in from the south to test the strength of President Saddam Hussein's defenders, who are believed to have fallen back for an urban battle.
The coalition moved to isolate Baghdad with a pincer of Army forces from the southwest and Marine forces from the southeast. Saddam's seat of power shook as waves of B-52 strikes lit the sky with huge flashes and U.S. artillery pounded Iraqi positions overnight.
Members of the U.S. Army's V Corps and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force fought past Republican Guard divisions into the city Saturday, where they intend to stay until the war is won, said Navy Capt. Frank Thorp, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
He claimed American forces were in "the heart of the city" but witnesses in Baghdad saw no U.S. troops.
With Saddam's most-trusted fighters likely embedded in Baghdad's heart, the coalition must take its next steps very carefully, British spokesman Group Capt. Al Lockwood said.
"I believe that those still loyal to the regime may well retreat into the city in some kind of last ditch stand," Lockwood said Saturday. "But we are hopeful that a large number of them have gone home."
In marshy lands barely a mile south of Baghdad's city line, Marines fought a tense battle with militant forces loyal to Saddam. Marines with bayonets were in the reeds, lunging at the fighters. Many of the combatants were foreign -- Jordanian, Egyptian and Sundanese, said Lt. Col. B.P. McCoy. Iraqi officials have said there are thousands of such Arab volunteers.
"It's like a jihad. They were given a rifle and told to become a martyr," McCoy said. "It's just matter of fighting them, of killing them. It's what we're trying to do today."
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
April 5, 2003, 6:27 AM EST
SOUTH OF BAGHDAD, Iraq Coalition Moves to Isolate Baghdad
Email this story
Printer friendly format
Top Stories
Coalition Moves to Isolate Baghdad
Coalition Forces Seek to Isolate Baghdad
Saddam's Fedayeen Hit Baghdad Streets
Allies Launch Air Support Over Baghdad
Forces Use Explosives at Baghdad Airport
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
April 5, 2003, 6:27 AM EST
SOUTH OF BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. ground forces took their first steps into the Iraqi capital Saturday as troops moved in from the south to test the strength of President Saddam Hussein's defenders, who are believed to have fallen back for an urban battle.
The coalition moved to isolate Baghdad with a pincer of Army forces from the southwest and Marine forces from the southeast. Saddam's seat of power shook as waves of B-52 strikes lit the sky with huge flashes and U.S. artillery pounded Iraqi positions overnight.
Members of the U.S. Army's V Corps and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force fought past Republican Guard divisions into the city Saturday, where they intend to stay until the war is won, said Navy Capt. Frank Thorp, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
He claimed American forces were in "the heart of the city" but witnesses in Baghdad saw no U.S. troops.
With Saddam's most-trusted fighters likely embedded in Baghdad's heart, the coalition must take its next steps very carefully, British spokesman Group Capt. Al Lockwood said.
"I believe that those still loyal to the regime may well retreat into the city in some kind of last ditch stand," Lockwood said Saturday. "But we are hopeful that a large number of them have gone home."
In marshy lands barely a mile south of Baghdad's city line, Marines fought a tense battle with militant forces loyal to Saddam. Marines with bayonets were in the reeds, lunging at the fighters. Many of the combatants were foreign -- Jordanian, Egyptian and Sundanese, said Lt. Col. B.P. McCoy. Iraqi officials have said there are thousands of such Arab volunteers.
"It's like a jihad. They were given a rifle and told to become a martyr," McCoy said. "It's just matter of fighting them, of killing them. It's what we're trying to do today."
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