TheStar Telegram March 22, 2003
A.M. Briefing
A Readers' Guide to the War in the Gulf
Surgical strikes
Precision-guided weapons pummeled Iraq's capital Friday and leveled several buildings.
At least one of Saddam Hussein's main palaces was blasted by the attacks.
Other Baghdad targets included the prime minister's office and the Cabinet's building.
1 Main Presidential Palace: The main presidential palace, also known as the Old Palace, overlooks the Tigris River in Baghdad's central al-Karadah district. The compound is the official center of the Iraqi state and home to the offices of the prime minister's staff, the Cabinet and a Republican Guard camp.
2 Iraqi intelligence headquarterS: The intelligence agency planned the failed assassination attempt against former President Bush.
3 Baath Party headquarters: The ruling party headquarters and a symbol of Iraq's one-party system. It dwarfs most government buildings in Washington, D.C., and has been rebuilt since suffering heavy damage in 1991.
DAY 3
U.S. military suffers casualties in combat
Two Marines were killed in combat in southern Iraq, bringing to six the number of American casualties. Four U.S. soldiers died Thursday when their helicopter crashed.
Coalition troops capture key sites
Ground troops swept through southern Iraq ahead of schedule, reaching the outskirts of Basra. Troops took control of a number of key positions, including the port city of Umm Qasr and the Rumaila oil field, which contains 14 percent of the world's known oil reserves.
Scope of attack widens to north Iraq
The U.S.-led aerial attack expanded to include northern Iraq, where several cities were bombed, including Tikrit -- Saddam Hussein's hometown -- and Kirkuk, the center of the oil industry in that part of the country. In western Iraq, two key airfields fell under U.S. control.
Thousands of Iraqi soldiers giving up
Thousands of Iraqi soldiers surrendered as U.S. forces moved toward Baghdad, including an entire infantry division near Basra.
Anti-U.S. protest turns violent in Yemen
Outrage over the war spilled into streets in cities around the world. In Yemen, where police clashed with 30,000 anti-war demonstrators outside the U.S. Embassy, an exchange of gunfire killed three people and injured dozens.
SOURCES: The Associated Press, Knight Ridder newspapers, The New York Times
KEY STATS
Vital numbers about the war
WEAPONS
1,500 Number of strike missions, including almost 1,000 cruise missile launches, planned during the first 24 hours of the latest bombing campaign.
TROOPS
100 Miles covered by ground troops leaving Kuwait, bringing them about a third of the way to Baghdad.
SURRENDER
10,000 The estimated number of Iraqi soldiers who have surrendered, including the entire 51st Infantry Division, whose mission was to defend the southern city of Basra.
War on Terror
Officials seek Kenyan in attacks on embassy, resort
Investigators are looking for a fugitive al Qaeda operative from Africa who they believe planned two deadly terrorist attacks in Kenya.
Thirteen people were killed in a Nov. 28 attack in the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa, and 224 died when the U.S. Embassy was bombed in 1998.
Also Friday, in France, authorities said an attack by Islamic militants was probably derailed when ricin was discovered at a Paris train station. The deadly poison was found this week during a routine search of lockers.
French police have arrested 29 suspected Islamic militants since November, including several who belonged to a cell with ties to separatists in both Chechnya and to al Qaeda.
SOURCES: Program Executive Office Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation; Jane's Information Group; GlobalSecurity.org; Boeing Corp; Knight Ridder, Reuters, Scripps Howard, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News
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