Financial review March 24, 2003
'Heavy metal' races to Baghdad
By Chris Tomlinson, AP with Reuters
In a rapid penetration of hostile territory, US forces covered more than 360 kilometres in less than 40 hours to take fighting positions near the half-way mark to Baghdad.
US forces also said they had captured the town of Nasiriyah, 375 km south-east of Baghdad, which is an important crossing point on the Euphrates River. The sweeping march of the 2nd Brigade puts US troops about 160 km from the capital, near the city of Najaf, which is holy to the Shia community.
More than 70 tanks and 60 Bradley fighting vehicles raced across the desert in a bold flanking movement, placing the 2nd Brigade ahead of all US forces on the drive to Baghdad.
Within an hour's drive of their final stopping point, the brigade engaged dozens of civilian vehicles mounted with machine guns and fought through Saturday night until yesterday local time, destroying 15 vehicles, killing at least 100 Iraqi militiamen and capturing 20 others.
The Iraqi fighters were believed to be members of the Baathist party militia, loyal to one of Saddam Hussein's sons.
The commander of the 2nd Brigade, Colonel David Perkins, split the brigade in two parts. The first, codenamed "Team Heavy Metal", consisted of the armoured fighting vehicles; the second, "Rock 'n Roll", consisted of all the wheeled support vehicles.
The combat vehicles took off cross-country, weaving through the desert, avoiding cities, villages and main roads or highways to avoid being detected by Iraqi forces.
The brigade broke down into wedges of companies. Each tank or infantry company drove their vehicles in wide wedges sometimes up to 10 km across, reaching speeds of up to 64 kmh, leaving huge plumes of dust in their wake.
The brigade is now on the western bank of the Euphrates on one of the main highways leading to Baghdad.
US officers said they believed units of the elite Republican Guard faced them at Najaf and at other cities south of Baghdad, like Kut on the Tigris, where the Baghdad Division is thought to be based.
A strike from Najaf north across the Euphrates towards the Tigris River and Baghdad could create a pincer movement on the capital.
US Marines further south were poised to strike north across the Euphrates after taking control of bridgeheads on the far bank at the city of Nasiriyah.
US officers said that US Marines had crossed the Euphrates and were holding positions on the north bank at Nasiriyah.
But Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said yesterday on television that Iraqi defenders were still fighting US forces around Nasiriyah and had destroyed 16 US tanks and armoured vehicles.
US officers said the Iraqi army's 11th Division, stationed around Nasiriyah, had "capitulated". That report could not be confirmed. No details of the 11th Division's reported surrender were available.
Iraqi officials on Saturday denied US statements that the commander of the 51st Division had surrendered and a US commander's statement that his forces had fought and defeated elements of the 51st around the southern city of Basra.
According to US defence think-tank globalsecurity.org, the 11th Infantry Division is based around Nasiriyah and, along with the 51st Mechanised Division, is part of Iraq's III Army Corps. Iraqi army divisions can number up to 15,000 men but many are below their full fighting strength.
Copyright © 2003, Financial review
