Washington, Mar 25: US helicopters have begun attacking President Saddam Hussein`s Republican Guard Forces arrayed around Baghdad, a Pentagon official said. The army`s Third Infantry Division moved to within 80 kms of the Iraqi capital.
Asked about ground forces, Maj. Gen. Stanley Mcchrystal said, "We have not gotten into direct firefights with Republican Guard Forces."
Coalition forces early today also shelled Nasiriya, home to key bridges across the Euphrates River in southern Iraq. The city has been the scene of the most intense fighting to date: Ten Marines were killed in combat there Sunday, 12 were injured and 16 are considered missing, a senior commander in the battle told a private TV channel.
They blew up anti-aircraft guns, rocket propelled grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition left by the enemy -- explosions that shook the earth and turned the sky black with smoke.
The fierce resistance from Iraqi troops in the south also resulted in the first British combat death of the 5-day-old war, a soldier killed in action Monday near Basra in southern Iraq. Two British soldiers are missing after an attack Sunday on their vehicles in southern Iraq.
U.S. and coalition planes also struck the northern Iraqi city of Mosul for the third night in a row early Tuesday. Large explosions and anti-aircraft fire could be seen by a CNN crew in Kalak, about 28 miles east of Mosul.
In the fifth day of ground combat operations, Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed satisfaction with the progress of the U.S.-led war.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said as coalition forces draw close to Baghdad, they will face battle with Iraq`s most elite military units positioned to barricade Baghdad.
Aerial attack continued today on Kirkuk in Northern Afghanistn.
Meanwhile, Iraqi television also showed images of what appeared to be a downed US Apache attack helicopter sitting largely undamaged in a grassy field. Information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf claimed peasants had shot down two Apaches, and two pilots were in custody.
Bureau Report
