Enviado: 22/3/2003 13:46DJ IRAQ ROUNDUP: US, British Forces Push Towards Basra
NEW YORK (AP)--Leaving throngs of captured Iraqis behind them in razor-wire
pens, U.S. and British forces battled for control of southern Iraq's largest
city Saturday while air strikes pounded far-flung targets across the country.
U.S. officials said Saddam Hussein's regime was clearly losing control.
U.S. aircraft bombed Iraqi tanks holding the bridges near Basra, a city of 1.3
million, and Iraqi forces fired artillery in return. To the north, U.S. infantry
and airborne units pushed over the desert toward central Iraq on the second day
of the ground offensive.
In Baghdad, a huge explosion shook the heart of the capital before dawn, just
hours after the fiercest bombardment of the war shattered one of Saddam's
palaces. Also taking a direct hit was the nine-story intelligence headquarters.
"The lights stayed on in Baghdad, but the instruments of tyranny are
collapsing," said British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon.
Meanwhile, Iran complained Saturday about violations of its airspace by U.S.
and British warplanes flying missions over Iraq, and said a stray rocket had hit
the Abadan petrochemical facility the night before. CNN reported the Pentagon
was attempting to confirm the Iranian claim.
West of Baghdad, along the Euphrates River, another of Saddam's palaces was
destroyed Saturday in a strike by warplanes from the USS Theodore Roosevelt,
according to a commander aboard the carrier in the Mediterranean. And in
far-north Iraq, a Kurdish official said U.S. forces fired Tomahawk cruise
missiles at suspected positions of the Ansar al Islam guerrillas, which the U.S.
accuses of ties to al Qaida terrorists.
Near Basra, Cobra attack helicopters, attack jets, tanks and 155 mm howitzers
tried to clear the way for the troops headed up Highway 80 - nicknamed the
"Highway of Death" during the 1991 Gulf War when U.S. airstrikes destroyed an
Iraqi military convoy using it to flee Kuwait.
Along the roadside, a few children waved; others patted their stomachs or
lifted their hands to their mouths, signaling hunger.
Left behind were large numbers of Iraqi soldiers, including members of the
51st Infantry Division. Malnourished and overmatched, they surrendered Friday,
depriving Basra of one of its main defensive units.
According to Hoon, most regular Iraqi troops have withdrawn from Basra, but
members of Saddam's security forces continued to defend the city.
U.S. and British commanders said their troops captured many key facilities in
Iraq's southern oil fields, saving them from possible sabotage and ensuring
their use for postwar reconstruction. Only seven oil wells were found to be
ablaze - far fewer than many officials had feared.
Adm. Michael Boyce, chief of the U.K. defense staff, said nearly all the oil
and gas installations had been mined or booby-trapped, indicating Saddam was
"prepared to blow up his entire economy."
"We have found demolitions which were obviously set to go," Boyce said. "We
managed to get in there fast enough to prevent them being blown."
Two U.S. Marines were killed in combat in the area Friday. One U.S. Navy
officer died Saturday along with six Britons when two Royal Navy helicopters
collided over the Persian Gulf.
U.S. intelligence officials remained uncertain whether Saddam might have been
wounded or even killed in the missile strike Wednesday night that opened the
war. In any case, said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, "The regime is
starting to lose control of their country."
In Baghdad, traffic returned to the streets after the pre-dawn explosion, and
workmen swept glass from the sidewalks near the badly damaged presidential
compound. A few miles away, a hole the size of two dining tables was blown in
the dome of the Al-Salam Palace, another presidential palace sometimes used to
house visiting foreign dignitaries.
Iraqi officials said three people had been killed and more than 200 injured in
the bombardment of Baghdad.
Among those hospitalized with shrapnel wounds from the air strikes were Amal
Hassan Kamel and her 8-year-old son, Wa'ad, who was crying for his father.
"The Americans have no conscience," Kamel said. "What have our children done
to deserve this?"
Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf insisted that Iraqi forces were
putting up strong resistance in the south and inflicting more casualties on the
invaders than were being acknowledged in Washington or London. He contended that
the legions of surrendering Iraqis were civilians, not soldiers, and denied the
51st Infantry Division had capitulated.
In Turkey, a military official said Friday that 1,000 troops had crossed into
northern Iraq, a move that would likely draw objections from U.S. officials.
However, the Turkish military Saturday denied that the troops had been deployed
in Iraq.
In Japan, New Zealand, Bangladesh and other countries, anti-war protests
resumed Saturday, a day after violent protests in several Middle Eastern
countries. Gunfire killed three people outside the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, where
about 30,000 protesters assembled, and about 10,000 protesters confronted riot
police in Cairo, Egypt.
Anti-war demonstrators also marched through the streets of San Francisco and
other U.S. cities Friday. Smaller groups elsewhere demonstrated in support of
U.S. troops.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
22-03-03 1229GMT(AP-DJ-03-22-03 1229GMT)
Mar-22-2003 12:29 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
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NEW YORK (AP)--Leaving throngs of captured Iraqis behind them in razor-wire
pens, U.S. and British forces battled for control of southern Iraq's largest
city Saturday while air strikes pounded far-flung targets across the country.
U.S. officials said Saddam Hussein's regime was clearly losing control.
U.S. aircraft bombed Iraqi tanks holding the bridges near Basra, a city of 1.3
million, and Iraqi forces fired artillery in return. To the north, U.S. infantry
and airborne units pushed over the desert toward central Iraq on the second day
of the ground offensive.
In Baghdad, a huge explosion shook the heart of the capital before dawn, just
hours after the fiercest bombardment of the war shattered one of Saddam's
palaces. Also taking a direct hit was the nine-story intelligence headquarters.
"The lights stayed on in Baghdad, but the instruments of tyranny are
collapsing," said British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon.
Meanwhile, Iran complained Saturday about violations of its airspace by U.S.
and British warplanes flying missions over Iraq, and said a stray rocket had hit
the Abadan petrochemical facility the night before. CNN reported the Pentagon
was attempting to confirm the Iranian claim.
West of Baghdad, along the Euphrates River, another of Saddam's palaces was
destroyed Saturday in a strike by warplanes from the USS Theodore Roosevelt,
according to a commander aboard the carrier in the Mediterranean. And in
far-north Iraq, a Kurdish official said U.S. forces fired Tomahawk cruise
missiles at suspected positions of the Ansar al Islam guerrillas, which the U.S.
accuses of ties to al Qaida terrorists.
Near Basra, Cobra attack helicopters, attack jets, tanks and 155 mm howitzers
tried to clear the way for the troops headed up Highway 80 - nicknamed the
"Highway of Death" during the 1991 Gulf War when U.S. airstrikes destroyed an
Iraqi military convoy using it to flee Kuwait.
Along the roadside, a few children waved; others patted their stomachs or
lifted their hands to their mouths, signaling hunger.
Left behind were large numbers of Iraqi soldiers, including members of the
51st Infantry Division. Malnourished and overmatched, they surrendered Friday,
depriving Basra of one of its main defensive units.
According to Hoon, most regular Iraqi troops have withdrawn from Basra, but
members of Saddam's security forces continued to defend the city.
U.S. and British commanders said their troops captured many key facilities in
Iraq's southern oil fields, saving them from possible sabotage and ensuring
their use for postwar reconstruction. Only seven oil wells were found to be
ablaze - far fewer than many officials had feared.
Adm. Michael Boyce, chief of the U.K. defense staff, said nearly all the oil
and gas installations had been mined or booby-trapped, indicating Saddam was
"prepared to blow up his entire economy."
"We have found demolitions which were obviously set to go," Boyce said. "We
managed to get in there fast enough to prevent them being blown."
Two U.S. Marines were killed in combat in the area Friday. One U.S. Navy
officer died Saturday along with six Britons when two Royal Navy helicopters
collided over the Persian Gulf.
U.S. intelligence officials remained uncertain whether Saddam might have been
wounded or even killed in the missile strike Wednesday night that opened the
war. In any case, said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, "The regime is
starting to lose control of their country."
In Baghdad, traffic returned to the streets after the pre-dawn explosion, and
workmen swept glass from the sidewalks near the badly damaged presidential
compound. A few miles away, a hole the size of two dining tables was blown in
the dome of the Al-Salam Palace, another presidential palace sometimes used to
house visiting foreign dignitaries.
Iraqi officials said three people had been killed and more than 200 injured in
the bombardment of Baghdad.
Among those hospitalized with shrapnel wounds from the air strikes were Amal
Hassan Kamel and her 8-year-old son, Wa'ad, who was crying for his father.
"The Americans have no conscience," Kamel said. "What have our children done
to deserve this?"
Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf insisted that Iraqi forces were
putting up strong resistance in the south and inflicting more casualties on the
invaders than were being acknowledged in Washington or London. He contended that
the legions of surrendering Iraqis were civilians, not soldiers, and denied the
51st Infantry Division had capitulated.
In Turkey, a military official said Friday that 1,000 troops had crossed into
northern Iraq, a move that would likely draw objections from U.S. officials.
However, the Turkish military Saturday denied that the troops had been deployed
in Iraq.
In Japan, New Zealand, Bangladesh and other countries, anti-war protests
resumed Saturday, a day after violent protests in several Middle Eastern
countries. Gunfire killed three people outside the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, where
about 30,000 protesters assembled, and about 10,000 protesters confronted riot
police in Cairo, Egypt.
Anti-war demonstrators also marched through the streets of San Francisco and
other U.S. cities Friday. Smaller groups elsewhere demonstrated in support of
U.S. troops.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
22-03-03 1229GMT(AP-DJ-03-22-03 1229GMT)
Mar-22-2003 12:29 GMT
Source DJBK Dow Jones Bankers Wire
Categories:
HOT G/DEF G/USG N/BKG N/CMDI N/DJG7 N/DJI N/DJIV N/DJMO N/DOI N/ECR
N/EWR N/FXW N/IPR N/WER N/CMD N/DJWI N/HOT N/MLT N/NWS N/PET N/UKMR N/WSJC
M/NND R/IZ R/ML R/NME R/US MST/HOT MST/G/DEF MST/G/EXE MST/N/SUM MST/B/BRK
MST/N/PET MST/R/IQ MST/R/MID MST/R/NME MST/R/US