A rchive Date
[ 25-03-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Iraq ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-03-25-0003.html
Closing in on the capital
Allies meet fierce resistance as they advance on Baghdad
By DAVID ESPO, AP SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Aiming for Saddam Hussein's seat of power, U.S.-led warplanes attacked Republican Guard units defending Baghdad yesterday while ground troops advanced to within 80 km of the Iraqi capital.
In Washington, President George W. Bush put a $75-billion price tag on his warchest.
The air assault marked the first known engagement between forces in central Iraq, and many of the American craft were hit by Iraqi groundfire. A helicopter went down behind enemy lines -- the cause was unknown -- and the Pentagon said the two-person crew had been taken prisoner.
Five days into Operation Iraqi Freedom, resistance prevented allied forces from securing Basra and An Nasiriyah in the south and thwarted efforts to put out burning oil wells.
"These things are never easy," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on the day his country suffered its first combat casualty. "There will be some difficult times ahead but (the war) is going to plan."
Saddam sought to rally Iraqis in a televised appearance. "Be patient, brothers, because God's victory will be ours soon," he said.
Despite Saddam's defiant pose, a military barracks in northern Iraq was bombed, and Baghdad fell under renewed air attack. Iraqis set up mortar positions south of the city and piled sandbags around government buildings and other strategic locations.
"Coalition forces are closing in on Baghdad," Maj.-Gen. Stanley McChrystal told reporters at the Pentagon.
He said U.S. Apache helicopters attacked Saddam's Republican Guard forces arrayed around Baghdad while another official said a "large portion" of the day's bombing runs were dedicated to hitting the same units.
Defence officials said the Apaches encountered heavy groundfire. One official said many Apaches were hit but they destroyed about 10 Iraqi tanks before cutting off their attack.
Asked about ground forces, McChrystal said, "We have not gotten into direct firefights with Republican Guard forces."
That seemed a matter of time. The Army's 3rd Infantry Division was within 80 km of the capital, battling sandstorms more than Iraqi fire, as it neared the approaches to Baghdad.
The advance of long columns of thousands of vehicles was aided by air protection that wiped out a column of Iraqi armour at one point and sent some of Saddam's outer defences withdrawing toward the capital.
Meanwhile, allied forces continued to fight for control of the cities of Basra and An Nassiriya, where U.S. Marines were engaged in heavy fighting early today. U.S. troops have been trying to cross the Euphrates river for two days.
In the north, American aircraft carried out bombing raids against a military barracks close to the line that separates Iraqi-held territory from the Kurdish-held region.
"People are evacuating, but not because of the bombing. They are afraid Saddam will respond with chemical weapons," said Ahmad Qafoor, a school teacher.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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