Nassiriya, (Iraq) Mar 25: US forces attacked elite Republican Guards defending the approaches to Baghdad on Tuesday, while American Marines further south finally punched a path through stubborn Iraqi resistance in Nassiriya. US ground forces probed Republican Guards forming part of a defensive ring around Baghdad while bombers softened them up from the air. A British defense official said the bombardment began on Monday night. "It`s ongoing," he said. Distant explosions were heard in Baghdad, but it was not clear if these were part of the air strikes against the Medina Division of the Republican Guards facing US columns that have thrust to the Karbala area, 60 miles from the capital. Several explosions also rocked Baghdad`s outskirts.
Anti-aircraft fire cracked out and planes could be heard but not seen through dust storms and oil smoke from trenches set ablaze by Iraqi forces. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday he expected a battle between the Medina Division and forces led by the US 5th Corps to be a "crucial moment" in the six-day-old war. A senior Pentagon source said he could not confirm US media reports that Iraqi leaders had drawn a "red line" around Baghdad within which Republican Guards had been authorized to use chemical weapons. Iraq denies that it has such weapons. US and British forces have met stronger resistance than expected in their onslaught to remove President Saddam Hussein. "Their dreams of a short and easy war have started to evaporate and their hopes of defeating the Iraqi people are being destroyed," an Iraqi military spokesman said. The tough fighting again fueled market fears of a prolonged war. Oil prices pushed higher, Asian shares slid and the dollar sank. Safe-haven gold and bond prices rose.
A big convoy of US Marines finally crossed the Euphrates river and Saddam Canal at the southern city of Nassiriya, resuming an advance toward Baghdad after three days of fighting that cost them 10 dead, 12 wounded and 16 missing. The convoy raced through the streets along a protective corridor of American armor, crossing first the river and then the canal, before leaving a still-hostile city behind. With the Marine force now across the Euphrates at Nassiriya, a separate military column was heading up the main Basra-Baghdad highway, which crosses the river to the west of Nassiriya. Further north, a sandstorm was hampering US troops who have taken a desert route west of the Euphrates to reach Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad. The battle tactic for the control of Basra took an about turn today with the coalition announcing that the forces would refocus on the second biggest Iraqi city as a "military objective" -- a tactic that stood in stark opposition to the earlier plan of "Liberating Basra".
Clearly, the adopting of changed tactics now mean coalition forces will be entering the Basra battle zone and not bye-passing it as was earlier signalled.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan highlighted humanitarian problems in Basra, calling for urgent action to ensure there was enough water for Iraq`s second city. "A city of that size cannot afford to go without electricity or water for long," Annan said. "Apart from the water aspect, you can imagine what it does for sanitation."
The United States has promised to begin delivering aid within a few days to demonstrate that its fight is with Iraqi leaders, not the Iraqi people. A British commander said on Tuesday that Umm Qasr, Iraq`s only deepwater port, had finally been secured, after Iraqi fighters resisted for several days. Aid could start flowing through the port within 48 hours, he said. President Bush asked Congress for $75 billion in emergency funding to pay for the military campaign in Iraq and to reward key allies, including $3.5 billion as a down payment on Iraq`s reconstruction and for humanitarian relief. Bureau Report