Bashur, Mar 27: The US military began building its northern front in Iraq today, dropping 1,000 paratroopers into the region to secure a key airfield in the country's Kurdish-controlled zone.
Meanwhile, a top US military official accused Iraqi forces of committing war crimes by executing prisoners of war, using civilians as human shields and hiding command posts in hospitals.
Meanwhile, in central Iraq, there were conflicting reports about whether large numbers of Iraqi Republican Guard troops were moving out of Baghdad toward the lead elements of the US 3rd Infantry Division.
Top US military officials in Washington and at Central Command headquarters in Qatar said field reports seemed to be based on inaccurate intelligence and that officials could find no evidence of such an operation.
Bureau Report
