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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


03 April Iraq Special Weapons News

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

  • Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers 03 Apr 2003 -- "Coalition ground, air, maritime and special forces have made remarkable progress in the first two weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (...) We are continuing to move toward our objectives. (...) Air strikes continue. In the last 24 hours coalition air forces have flown more than 1,000 sorties over Iraq. Since the war began we have fired over 725 Tomahawks and dropped over 12,000 precision-guided munitions. We essentially control over 95 percent of Iraqi airspace."
  • Transcript: TRANSCRIPT OF 4/3 CENTCOM BRIEF CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- "We are well into the 14th day since coalition forces entered Iraq. Our operations are achieving the desired effects"
  • Statement to the House of Commons - Secretary of State for Defence Ministry of Defence 03 Apr 2003 -- "With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a further statement about military action in Iraq."
  • Transcript: Media Briefing Australia's contribution to Global Operations Australian Ministry of Defence 03 Apr 2003 -- 'Good morning everyone, and welcome again to our regular update on operations in the Middle East. While all our forces have again been busy conducting their respective tasks, I'm happy to report there have been no major incidents or casualties in the past 24 hours."
  • Transcript - Media briefing Thursday 3 April 2003 Australian Ministry of Defence 03 Apr 2003 -- "The Australian Defence Force contribution to the coalition continues to make its presence felt. Our Hornet aircraft have undertaken 130 combat sorties, totalling about 700 flying hours since operations commenced. In addition to defence of counter air sorties, approximately 70 strike missions have also been successfully prosecuted."

  • IRAQ WRAP 4th UPDATE VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- Advance elements of American forces are reported to be within the southern limits of Baghdad, as the Iraqi capital was plunged into darkness Thursday night for the first time since the war to topple Saddam Hussein began. Correspondents traveling with the U-S Army's third Infantry Division report encountering artillery fire from entrenched Iraqi positions as they raced toward Baghdad.
  • COALITION AIRCRAFT STRIKE IRAQI AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces struck Iraqi Air Force headquarters buildings in central Baghdad at approximately 12:45 p.m. EST today (Thursday).
  • IRAQ WRAP 3rd UPDATE VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Advance elements of American forces are now reported to have reached the southern outskirts of Baghdad, as the Iraqi capital was plunged into darkness for the first time since the war to topple Saddam Hussein began two weeks ago. Correspondents embedded with the U-S Army's 3rd Infantry Division report encountering artillery fire from dug in Iraqi positions as they raced toward Baghdad, laying siege to the city's main airport along the way.
  • IRAQ / UM QASR VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Relief supplies are arriving in Um Qasr, a port at Iraq's southernmost tip.
  • Coalition Aircraft Down in Iraq Navy NewStand 03 Apr 2003 -- An F/A-18C, a single-seat aircraft, went down at approximately 3:45 p.m. EST April 2 during ongoing Coalition air operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  • General Describes U.S. Efforts to Minimize Civilian Casualties Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- One of the Pentagon's top military officials briefed the foreign press in Washington April 3 on the U.S. military's efforts to minimize civilian casualties and avoid unintended damage in its targeting process.
  • Coalition Forces Are Close to Iraqi Capital Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- U.S. Central Command says coalition forces "are in close proximity" to Baghdad and there are growing indications that the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein has lost control of its army and the Iraqi people.
  • THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- The U-S-led coalition has been trying to minimize the danger and hardship to Iraqi civilians in the war to liberate Iraq. But army and paramilitary forces loyal to the regime of Saddam Hussein have adopted tactics that deliberately put Iraqi civilians in harm's way. Saddam's Fedayeen, as the paramilitaries are called, have disguised themselves as civilians to ambush coalition soldiers. The Fedayeen have used Iraqi women and children as human shields. In the city of Basra, the Fedayeen attacked Iraqi civilians with machine guns and mortars when they tried to flee. Saddam's armed forces have turned schools and hospitals into armories and headquarters.
  • PENTAGON: IRAQI END GAME VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- U-S led coalition forces may be planning to isolate Baghdad while consolidating their control over the rest of Iraq. The hope appears to be that the regime of Saddam Hussein will collapse without coalition troops getting embroiled in bloody street fighting.
  • PENTAGON/IRAQI SOLDIERS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is urging Iraqi soldiers to turn against the government of President Saddam Hussein.
  • Coalition Land Forces Approaching Baghdad AFPS 03 Apr 2003 -- A Navy F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet went missing and an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in central Iraq April 2, U.S. Central Command officials said this morning.
  • Coalition Forces in Commuting Distance to Downtown Baghdad AFPS 03 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces have taken outlying areas of Baghdad "and are closer to the center of the Iraqi capital than many American commuters are to their downtown offices," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon today.
  • Precision Munitions Provide 'Great Capability,' Carry 'Great Responsibility' AFPS 03 Apr 2003 -- Precision munitions and careful targeting have enabled Operation Iraqi Freedom planners to maximize the effects of missiles and bombs and minimize unintended Iraqi civilian casualties and collateral damage.
  • V CORPS SOLDIER KILLED BY FRIENDLY FIRE CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- A V Corps soldier was killed by friendly fire at approximately 4:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. EST) today (Thursday) in central Iraq.
  • Desert Dispatch -- Images Of Iraqi Civilian Deaths Fuel Antiwar Feeling In Arab World RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- The war in Iraq is producing horrific pictures of civilian casualties that are certain to complicate efforts by Washington and London to win popular understanding in the Arab world for the conflict.
  • Desert Dispatch -- 3rd Infantry Division Advances To Baghdad Outskirts RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- Forward combat teams from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division have advanced to positions near the outskirts of Baghdad today.
  • Desert Dispatch -- Quick U.S. Advance Slices Through Iraqi Defenses RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz is embedded with the tactical operations center of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team in the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division. Today he reports that the division is "near Baghdad" and is continuing with a relatively rapid advance toward the Iraqi capital.
  • Reserve engineer unit gets 'eye-opener' in Iraq Army News 03 Apr 2003 -- Members of an Army Reserve unit prepared to build bridges in Iraq found themselves in combat along the road to Baghdad -- still waiting to build that bridge.
  • USE OF THURAYA PHONES DISCONTINUED CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- Recent intelligence reporting indicates Thuraya satellite phone services may have been compromised. For this reason, Thuraya phones use has been discontinued on the battlefields in Iraq.
  • MARINE KILLED IN NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- A Marine from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's 1st Marine Division was killed Wednesday evening near Al Kut when his M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon discharged, firing one round into his chest.
  • INTERIM RELEASE: REPORT OF MARKET BOMBING IN SOUTHEASTERN BAGDAD CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- US Central Command is investigating an allegation that Coalition aircraft bombed a vegetable market in Southeastern Baghdad, Iraq.
  • IRAQ/WRAP (L-2nd UPDATE) VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- U-S forces are attacking the international airport on the outskirts of Baghdad and battling Iraqi troops defending the capital. As allied troops advance toward the city proper, U-S military officials say there is increasing evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime is losing control of both the Iraqi military and the civilian population.
  • New Push Brings U.S. Troops To Edge Of Baghdad RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. says its troops are now just outside Baghdad and are gearing up to take the city's international airport.
  • Rumsfeld Says Coalition Forces Near Baghdad RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says coalition forces are closing in on Baghdad, as reports say U.S.-led troops are preparing an assault on Saddam International Airport.
  • IRAQ WRAP (L-UPDATE) VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- U-S forces are battling Iraqi troops on the outskirts of Baghdad, with some units less than 20-kilometers away from the city center. U-S military officials say there is increasing evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime is losing control of both the Iraqi military and the civilian population.
  • PENTAGON/BAGHDAD VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- With U-S led forces on the outskirts of Baghdad, senior American military officials are hinting coalition troops may try to isolate the Iraqi capital, hoping the regime of Saddam Hussein will collapse from within.
  • U-S / IRAQ / TACTICS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Some British soldiers in southern Iraq are trading their helmets for berets. It's part of a move to soften their image as they take up peacekeeping duties in cities behind the front lines. The British experience with urban warfare in Northern Ireland has taught them they need a soft touch to win over the local population. And American forces are getting advice on urban combat from the British.
  • IRAQ WAR/BAGHDAD VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Coalition troops fighting Iraq are reported advancing rapidly toward Baghdad, and some units are said to be less than 20-kilometers from the center of the city. Reporters traveling with some units say the troops are meeting only light resistance as they pass by.
  • PENTAGON/SADDAM VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there will be no deals to halt the fighting in Iraq that let Saddam Hussein's regime maintain any grip on power.
  • IRAQ / RESPONSE VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Senior Iraqi officials are disputing reports that coalition forces are near the capital of Baghdad. They also say coalition forces control no Iraqi city or town.
  • IRAQ/PALACE VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces have raided a palace reportedly used by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and other senior leaders near Baghdad.
  • IRAQ WRAP VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- U-S forces are on the outskirts of Baghdad, with some units only about 20-kilometers away from the city center. U-S military officials say there is increasing evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime is losing control of both the Iraqi military and the civilian population.
  • PENTAGON / RUMSFELD VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says coalition troops are closing in on Baghdad, and there is no chance the United States will halt the war and allow Saddam Hussein to survive.
  • IRAQ / BRIEFING VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- A senior U-S military officer in the Gulf says the Iraqi leadership appears unable to control its forces and its population in most of the country.
  • BAGHDAD ELECTRICAL SYSTEM NOT TARGETED BY COALITION CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- News reports indicate that electrical power is out in Baghdad.
  • INTERIM RELEASE: COALITION AIRCRAFT DOWN IN IRAQ CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- A Patriot missile may have downed the U.S. Navy F-18C Hornet which was flying a mission over Central Iraq at approximately 11:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. EST) Wednesday.
  • POTENTIAL FRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT UNDER INVESTIGATION CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- U.S. Central Command officials are investigating a possible friendly fire incident involving an F-15E Strike Eagle and Coalition ground forces.
  • U.S. Forces Deep Within 'Red Zone' RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military says its forces have moved within 50 kilometers of the southern outskirts of Baghdad, the goal of the two-week-old campaign in Iraq.
  • Baghdad Said To Be Boosting Defenses As U.S.-Led Forces Close In RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- There are reports this morning that units of Iraq's Republican Guard are moving to the south of Baghdad to defend the capital against a U.S.-led advance.
  • U.S. Troops Approach Southern Outskirts Of Baghdad RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. military says its troops today advanced to within 10 kilometers of the southern outskirts of Baghdad or about 20 kilometers from the center, and are positioning themselves to fight for the city's main airport.
  • IRAQ / WRAP VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- A U-S fighter plane and a Black Hawk helicopter have gone down in central Iraq. The incidents occurred as American troops advanced to within 30 kilometers of Baghdad.
  • IRAQ / RESPONSE VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Senior Iraqi officials say coalition forces are on the move in the desert, but control no Iraqi city or town. They are also saying coalition forces are not near the capital, Baghdad.
  • IRAQ / U-S AIRCRAFT VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- The U-S military in the Gulf says it will not rule out the possibility that a U-S Navy F/A-18 fighter jet that went down overnight in southern Iraq was shot down by friendly fire. U-S spokesmen say that incident and the downing of an Army Blackhawk helicopter in central Iraq are being investigated.
  • INITIAL RELEASE: MEDIA REPORT MARKET BOMBING IN SOUTHEASTERN BAGHDAD CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- US Central Command is investigating an allegation that Coalition aircraft bombed a vegetable market in Southeastern Baghdad, Iraq, today.
  • POTENTIAL BAGHDAD BOMBING CAMPAIGN BY IRAQI REGIME CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- Statement from U.S. Central Command Director of Strategic Communications Jim Wilkinson
  • MARINE DIES IN POWER LINE ACCIDENT CENTCOM 03 Apr 2003 -- A 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Marine from Task Force Tarawa died on Monday after he was involved in a power line accident.
  • Pope people, aircraft supporting fight AFPN 03 Apr 2003 -- Members of Pope's Flying Tigers -- the only active-duty A-10 Thunderbolt II unit in Southwest Asia -- are bringing the fight to the enemy as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  • Reserve, active duty blend seamlessly AFPN 03 Apr 2003 -- Active-duty and Reserve airmen are working side by side and facing the same wartime challenges while deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Deployments

  • 4th CAG Det. C prepares to move into Iraq USMC 03 Apr 2003 -- In keeping with President George W. Bush?s promise to aid the Iraqi people, Marines from the 4th Civil Affairs Group (CAG), headquartered at Anacostia Naval Station, Washington, D.C., are preparing to move from here to Task Force Tarawa?s forward area in An Nasiriyah, Iraq.
  • EDITORIAL: THE FREE IRAQI FORCES VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Hakim is an Iraqi American. He fled the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein in 1974 and since then has lived in the U.S. When war with Iraq became likely, Hakim volunteered to join U.S. troops. Today, he is a member of the Free Iraqi Forces.

US Policy

  • White House Press Gaggle White House 03 Apr 2003
  • Powell: Rebuilding Iraq Will Require International Community Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- The work of reconstructing and rebuilding Iraq will require the entire international community working together, Secretary of State Colin Powell said April 3 during a press conference following meetings with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministers and European Union officials in Brussels.
  • Days of Brutal Regime in Iraq Coming to an End, Bush Tells Marines Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- The United States and its coalition partners "will accept nothing less than complete and final victory" against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, President Bush said in a speech April 3 to thousands of cheering Marines and their families at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
  • Former Top Diplomat Rebuts Oil Rationale for Coalition Action in Iraq Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- The United States and its coalition partners want to topple Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime not because of oil as some critics of the war have charged but to liberate people who have lived under one of the world's "harshest dictatorships," says former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Herman Cohen.
  • U.S. Gathers Evidence of War Crimes by Iraqi Regime Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- A senior U.S. official says the United States is beginning to gather evidence of war crimes by the Saddam Hussein regime.
  • Rumsfeld Rules Out Iraqi Regime Departure Deal Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- With coalition forces poised on the outskirts of Baghdad, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there is "not even a remote possibility" that a deal would be struck to allow senior Iraqi regime leaders to leave the country.
  • Second U.S. Food Aid Shipment Leaves Texas for Iraq Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- The United States April 3 sent a ship carrying 28,000 metric tons of bulk winter wheat bound for Iraq.
  • CONGRESS WAR FUNDING WRAP VOA 04 Apr 2003 -- The U-S Senate has approved nearly 80 billion dollars in emergency funding to pay for the initial costs of the U-S-led war to disarm Iraq and bolster homeland security. The House is expected to follow suit shortly.
  • COLIN POWELL'S TRIP VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell is on a whirlwind tour of Turkey and Europe to shore up relations with Ankara, and try to enlist the aid of European nations in Iraq's rebuilding. Both results as well as media reaction to the trip, are mixed.
  • Highlighting the Cruel Nature of Iraqi Regime AFPS 03 Apr 2003 -- Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, defense officials have pointed out the Iraqi regime's policy of consistently ignoring the laws of armed conflict and the Geneva Conventions.
  • U.S. Pledges Extra $200 Million for Iraqi Food Relief AFPS 03 Apr 2003 -- The United States increased its cash donation to the international community to purchase food for the Iraqi people, a senior U.S. government official said here yesterday.
  • Powell: Post-War Iraq to Transfer Quickly to Iraqi Control AFPS 03 Apr 2003 -- Immediately after the Iraqi regime falls, U.S. and coalition military officials will assume responsibility for stabilizing the country, but soon after will transition to an "interim Iraqi authority," Secretary of State Colin Powell said today.
  • CONGRESS / WAR FUNDING UPDATE VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Congress is debating legislation to fund the initial costs of the war in Iraq. In both the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans clashed over Democrat efforts to add more money to help pay for homeland security in the United States. There was also heated debate over proposed aid to Turkey.
  • POSTWAR IRAQ VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell has told NATO allies the United States and its coalition partners and not the United Nations will govern Iraq in the immediate postwar period. That decision is not expected to sit well with European nations already unhappy with the U-S-led war.
  • President Salutes Marines, Vows 'Destination Baghdad, Nothing Less' AFPS 03 Apr 2003 -- "There's no finer sight than to see 12,000 United States Marines and corpsmen -- unless you happen to be a member of the Iraqi Republican Guard," President Bush said this morning in North Carolina.
  • POWELL / EUROPE VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has told European officials that the United States, not the United Nations, must have the lead role in Iraq's postwar reconstruction and has defended the use of force to back up diplomacy.
  • EDITORIAL: IRAQI MOSQUES NOT TARGETED VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- .S.-led coalition air forces have only one target in Iraq -- Saddam Hussein and his regime. Coalition air strikes are aimed only at the regime's leadership and their military and security forces, facilities, and assets. The coalition is using the world's most advanced technology to avoid both civilian casualties and damage to civilian areas, including Iraq's many cultural treasures, mosques, and religious shrines. Independent observers and journalists from many nations have verified this.
  • CONGRESS/WAR FUNDING VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Congress is debating legislation to fund the initial costs of the war in Iraq. In debate in both the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans clashed over Democratic efforts to add more money to help pay for homeland security in the United States.
  • CONGRESS/WAR FUNDING VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- As Congress debates Iraq war legislation, Democrats and Republicans are clashing over additional spending for homeland security, as well as aid to U-S allies and Iraq's reconstruction.
  • BUSH / IRAQ VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- With coalition troops rapidly closing in on Baghdad, President Bush is predicting victory in Iraq. Mr. Bush praised coalition forces, while comforting the families of those already lost in battle.

United Nations

Foreign Reactions

  • Jordanian King Issues Strong Criticism Of War RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- Jordan's King Abdullah yesterday condemned in unusually strong terms the deaths of "innocent people" in the war in Iraq.
  • Washington Determined To Be Top Player In Postwar Iraq RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- Who will run Iraq after the war, and what role, if any, will the United Nations have? Plans for a U.S.-led civilian administration and military occupation of Iraq in the postwar period is running into opposition in Europe, as well as Britain, the United States' chief ally in the war.
  • Assembly Endorses Troop Dispatch to Iraq Korea-net 03 Apr 2003 -- The National Assembly on Wednesday (April 2) approved the dispatch of 700 non-combatant troops in support of the US-led war in Iraq, voting 179 to 68 in favour of the motion with nine abstentions.
  • MEXICO/IRAQ WAR VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- As the war rages in faraway Iraq, anti-Americanism is rising in a country that shares a border with the United States --- Mexico. Disagreement over the war has created tensions and revived old resentments.
  • BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Britain says its troops have taken key suburbs of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, and are getting more and more help from Iraqi civilians as they move to take full control of the city.
  • JORDAN / IRAQ VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Jordan's prime minister summoned the U-S ambassador in Amman to express his condemnation of the killing and destruction in neighboring Iraq.

News Reports

  • Analysts Speculate Over Presence of Russian-Made Antitank Missiles In Iraq RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- With U.S. military planners weathering accusations that they underestimated the level of resistance their forces would encounter in Iraq, one piece of Iraqi military hardware is especially dogging U.S. tanks advancing on Baghdad: the Russian-made Kornet missile. Although it is not clear exactly who sold them to Iraq, the Kornet is being blamed for U.S. setbacks on the battlefield and has caused a diplomatic spat between Washington and Moscow.
  • Interview -- Arab Historian Says Iraqi Pride, Skepticism Of U.S. Intentions, Fueling Resistance RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- Historian Youssef Choueiri is a leading authority on modern Arab states and Islam and the author of several books, including "Arab Nationalism: A History" and a two-volume study entitled "Islamic Fundamentalism."
  • BACKGROUND REPORT Women in the Military VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Women have served in some way in every one of America's conflicts since the War of Independence in the seventeen-hundreds. The first American service women taken prisoner were captured in the eighteen-hundreds during the Civil War.
  • Concern Growing That U.S. Firms Will See Biggest Windfall From Reconstruction RFE/L 03 Apr 2003 -- Construction and engineering companies around the world could reap billions of dollars as part of the reconstruction effort in Iraq. Concern is mounting, however, that U.S. companies will win the largest share of the deals -- especially in the potentially lucrative oil sector. Indeed, the first invitations to bid for business have already gone exclusively to U.S. firms.
  • THE CITY OF BAGHDAD VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Baghdad, the stronghold of the Iraqi Baath party, and the key to success in the campaign against Saddam Hussein, is also one of the oldest, most celebrated cities of the Arab civilization. Protection of its population, as well as its many historical mosques, monuments, and museums, is one of the stated goals of the anti-Saddam coalition.
  • IRAQ /AID DEBATE VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Relief aid is starting to trickle into Iraq from neighboring countries. Supplies are also being unloaded at the southern Iraqi port of Um Qasr, now under coalition control. But a debate is clouding the relief effort - whether it will be under military or civilian control.
  • IRAQ / P-O-WS VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross, I-C-R-C, has gained access to some of the two-thousand Iraqi prisoners of war the U-S military says it is holding in southern Iraq. The I-C-R-C is still waiting for the same access to coalition P-O-Ws being held by Baghdad.
  • BOS Q & A / TURKEY AID VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- 'What we do know at this moment is that two trucks, carrying water purification equipment and medicine for the children's relief agency, UNICEF, basically entered northern Iraq in the last forty-eight hours after waiting three days at the border because, apparently, of incomplete paperwork."
  • BACKGROUND REPORT -- Jihad and Other Terms VOA 03 Apr 2003 -- Iraqis are being urged to lead a "jihad" against American and British forces. Iraq's information minister went on state television Tuesday to read what he said was a statement from President Saddam Hussein. The statement described the war in Iraq as a conflict between Islam and its enemies. It described jihad as a duty for Iraqis, and the act of dying for the religion as a way to reach heaven.
  • Human Rights Watch Says Iraqi Forces Placed Mines Around Mosque Washington File 03 Apr 2003 -- Human Rights Watch has accused Iraq of storing landmines in a mosque and planting them in the ground outside the mosque in violation of international law, the human rights group said in a press release April 2.
  • IRAQ: Medical aid agency operating in Umm Qasr IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- The first aid agency to enter the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr has visited the hospital there for the second time, IRIN learnt on Thursday.
  • IRAQ: Aid workers still operating in the north despite conflict IRIN 03 Apr 2003 -- As conflict in northern Iraq continues, aid workers in the region are continuing their work. Ongoing air strikes and a rapidly shifting front line now nearing the city of Mosul, have led to the displacement of thousands of people, whom aid organisations are attempting to help.




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