Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=03/26/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ WRAP 3RD UPDATE (L-only)

NUMBER=2-301371

BYLINE=NICK SIMEONE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: U-S led coalition forces in Iraq have opened a northern front of attack, parachuting into northern Iraq and seizing a key airfield in the Kurdish zone, said to be about 50 kilometers south of the Turkish border. The northern invasion came on another night of bombing in Baghdad. But Corespondent Nick Simeone reports there's still no indication when coalition ground troops poised on the outskirts of the city plan to move on the Iraqi capital.

TEXT: About a thousand soldiers from the U-S army's 173rd Airborne Brigade are now on the ground in northern Iraq, apparently landing without encountering any hostile fire. Coalition air strikes have already been targeting Iraqi command and control sites in the region. But the arrival of American paratroopers could signal the allies are preparing to begin closing in on Baghdad from the north -- as well as the south -- where troops, tanks and artillery are massing about 80 kilometers outside the Iraqi capital.

In southern Iraq, reports from Basra had U-S and British aircraft attacking what was described as a long convoy of Iraqi tanks and vehicles pouring out of the city, ahead of orders to send in troops and humanitarian aid. There have been reports of Iraqi troops in Basra attacking Shiite civilians who British military spokeswoman Emma Thomas say were involved in what appeared to be an uprising against Iraqi rule.

/// THOMAS ACT ///

We don't know exactly what's going on there. All we can say is we would look forward to watching it develop and would encourage it if at all possible. But obviously we are still on the outskirts of Basra.

/// END ACT ///

And, journalists with American troops near the town of Nassirya report U-S forces coming under more attack and sniper fire Wednesday. This, after what is being described as one of the fiercest land battles of the war so far, between U-S forces and Iraqi fighters near the town of Najaf.

V-O-A's Aslisha Ryu is traveling with the American military in the region.

/// RYU ACT ///

U-S Army units came under machine gun attack from a group of Iraqi men who were approaching the unit in light pick-up trucks and wearing civilian clothing. The army says the men turned out not to be civilians but hard core paramilitary fighters loyal to Saddam Hussein's Baath party. At the same time, coalition officers and reporters in the field say the Iraqi forces are hiding among civilians.

/// END ACT //

It's been these kinds of attacks that are leading to questions at the Pentagon about the decision to have the U-S army race rapidly toward Baghdad, while leaving rear guard forces and supply lines vulnerable to sneak attacks after ground troops pass towns and cities in southern and central Iraq. Even so, military commanders insist the campaign to topple Saddam Hussein is going as planned.

General Stanley McChrystal of the Pentagon's Joint Staff.

/// MCCHRYSTAL ACT ///

It has not thrown the force off its plan. The logistics have continued to flow smoothly. Additional forces continue to push forward. The plan has moved almost exactly with expectations.

/// END ACT ///

But Iraq says at least 15 civilians were killed Wednesday when a missile struck a Baghdad neighborhood. The Pentagon is not ruling out the possibility that an errant U-S missile may be to blame, but is denying U-S forces deliberately targeted the area.

/// SECOND MCCHRYSTAL ACT ///

We know for a fact that something landed in the Shaab district but we don't know for a fact whether it was U-S or Iraqi. We do know that we did not target anything in the vicinity of the Shaab district.

/// END ACT ///

President Bush delivered a message of resolve to U-S military personnel at Florida's MacDill Air Force Base Wednesday, home to the Pentagon's Central Command. He warned victory may not come easily but he decided to drop a line from his speech which said the war was progressing ahead of schedule.

On Thursday, he meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose country has some 40-thousand troops taking part in the war against Iraq, to plot strategy and plan for country's post war future. (SIGNED)

NEB/NJS/PT