Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=03/24/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ / WAR (L)

NUMBER=2-301192

BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB

DATELINE=AS-SAYLIYAH, QATAR

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Baghdad has been battered overnight by bombs and missiles, as coalition ground forces continue to advance toward the Iraqi capital. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from coalition headquarters at As-Sayliyah base in Qatar that the air strikes follow a day that U-S officials are calling the most difficult since the war on Iraq began five days ago.

TEXT: Smoke was still rising from the Iraqi capital as dawn broke Monday following a night of intense air strikes.

British military spokesman, Major Will MacKinlay, said coalition planes were targeting more strategic installations.

/// MacKINLAY ACT ///

They're destroying ammunition dumps, barracks, and communication facilities.

/// END ACT ///

The strikes come as coalition ground forces advanced closer to Baghdad after facing stiff resistance Sunday in parts of southern Iraq.

The deputy-commander of the coalition, Lieutenant- General John Abizeid told reporters it was the toughest day so far in the conflict.

/// ABIZEID ACT ///

Combat operations have met with resistance in a number of locations, the most notable of which is in the vicinity of An-Nasiriyah. United States Marines defeated an enemy attack there while sustaining a number of killed and wounded in the sharpest engagement of the war thus far.

/// END ACT ///

U-S officials say nine soldiers were killed at Nasiriya and a dozen were captured or killed in an ambush in the area. Iraqi officials showed five captured U-S soldiers on a regional (Al-Jazeera) television station, a move that U-S officials criticized as a violation of the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war. Iraqi officials said the prisoners would be treated correctly.

U-S troops also seized a chemical factory outside of Najaf and were examining it for signs of chemical weapons production.

/// REST OPT ///

General Abizeid said his troops have not found any weapons of mass destruction but believes that will change once they have taken Baghdad.

/// 2nd ABIZAID ACT ///

I have no doubt that we'll find weapons of mass destruction, but you shouldn't think it's going to happen tomorrow.

/// END ACT ///

Coalition troops Monday continued to search for two British soldiers who are missing after coming under attack in southern Iraq. In all, three-dozen coalition troops have been killed since the war began five days ago, one-third of these in combat. (Signed)

NEB/SB/KL/FC