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US troops enter Baghdad airport as advance gathers pace
Baghdad Airport, Apr 04: The pressure on Baghdad intensified today as US Forces took partial control of the Iraqi capital`s airport after racing to the outskirts of the city.
Baghdad Airport, Apr 04: The pressure on Baghdad intensified today as US Forces took partial control of the Iraqi capital`s airport after racing to the outskirts of the city.
More than 1,000 troops could be seen in and around the airport located 20 kilometres southwest of the city, which came in for new bombing raids in the early hours of today that left buildings in flames.
The US military said Iraqi Republican Guard troops inside the airport had been bombed last night and witnesses said dozens of people were killed or injured by heavy artillery fire.
In Washington, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, “The US-led forces "are closer to the center of the Iraqi capital than many American commuters are to their downtown offices." Rumsfeld also warned other nations not to encourage Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to seek asylum.
"There`s no question but that some governments are discussing from time to time some sort of a -- cutting a deal," he told a press briefing.
"And the inevitable effect of it, let there be no doubt, is to give hope and comfort to the Saddam Hussein regime, hope that one more time maybe he`ll survive ... Be there for another decade," he said. Major General Buford Blount, commander of the 20,000-strong US 3rd infantry division, said US Forces were 15 kilometers from downtown Baghdad and controlled the southern approaches to the capital.
Artillery fire was heard on the southern outskirts of Baghdad for the first time in the two-week-old war. Most of the capital was plunged into near total darkness following a power outage, although the US military said its forces had not targeted the power grid.
US special forces also raided a palace used by Saddam, 90 kilometres from Baghdad, seizing documents but capturing no regime officials.
In northern Iraq, coalition air raids targeted Iraqi positions near the town of Khazer on the road to the key city of Mosul. US-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq clashed with Iraqi troops near Khazer, a strategic junction on the road to Mosul, as US Special Forces and Kurds advanced on the oil capital of Kirkuk.
The intense fighting prompted Kurdish special forces chief Waji Barzani to say the "northern front has opened."
And in a rousing speech to 20,000 marines and their families in North Carolina, US President George W Bush said the days of Saddam`s regime were "coming to an end".
But Iraqi information minister Mohammed Al-Sahhaf remained defiant, denying that US Forces were close to Baghdad and were trapped in combat with Iraqi troops in every major town.
Iraq`s foreign minister Naji Sabri said Baghdad would inflict a "resounding defeat on the aggressor," and called on Arabs and Muslims across the world to defend Iraq.
And Iraqi satellite television aired footage of Saddam chairing a meeting and vowing that victory against the advancing US-British forces was certain.
Bureau Report
The US military said Iraqi Republican Guard troops inside the airport had been bombed last night and witnesses said dozens of people were killed or injured by heavy artillery fire.
In Washington, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, “The US-led forces "are closer to the center of the Iraqi capital than many American commuters are to their downtown offices." Rumsfeld also warned other nations not to encourage Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to seek asylum.
"There`s no question but that some governments are discussing from time to time some sort of a -- cutting a deal," he told a press briefing.
"And the inevitable effect of it, let there be no doubt, is to give hope and comfort to the Saddam Hussein regime, hope that one more time maybe he`ll survive ... Be there for another decade," he said. Major General Buford Blount, commander of the 20,000-strong US 3rd infantry division, said US Forces were 15 kilometers from downtown Baghdad and controlled the southern approaches to the capital.
Artillery fire was heard on the southern outskirts of Baghdad for the first time in the two-week-old war. Most of the capital was plunged into near total darkness following a power outage, although the US military said its forces had not targeted the power grid.
US special forces also raided a palace used by Saddam, 90 kilometres from Baghdad, seizing documents but capturing no regime officials.
In northern Iraq, coalition air raids targeted Iraqi positions near the town of Khazer on the road to the key city of Mosul. US-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq clashed with Iraqi troops near Khazer, a strategic junction on the road to Mosul, as US Special Forces and Kurds advanced on the oil capital of Kirkuk.
The intense fighting prompted Kurdish special forces chief Waji Barzani to say the "northern front has opened."
And in a rousing speech to 20,000 marines and their families in North Carolina, US President George W Bush said the days of Saddam`s regime were "coming to an end".
But Iraqi information minister Mohammed Al-Sahhaf remained defiant, denying that US Forces were close to Baghdad and were trapped in combat with Iraqi troops in every major town.
Iraq`s foreign minister Naji Sabri said Baghdad would inflict a "resounding defeat on the aggressor," and called on Arabs and Muslims across the world to defend Iraq.
And Iraqi satellite television aired footage of Saddam chairing a meeting and vowing that victory against the advancing US-British forces was certain.
Bureau Report