07 April 2003
Coalition Forces Isolating Baghdad, Moving Into City
(Central Command Report, April 7: Iraq Operational Update) (520) Washington -- The main focus of coalition operations continues in and around Baghdad with U.S. Marines isolating the capital from the east, while the U.S. Fifth Corps, led by the 3rd Infantry Division, continues operating in the west, northwest and directly into the capital itself, says a Central Command briefing officer. "To the northwest, the attack prevented reinforcement by Iraqi forces north of the city, and resulted in the destruction of an Iraqi unit that was composed of tanks, armored personnel carriers, other armored vehicles, artillery systems, and infantry," Brigadier General Vincent Brooks reported at the daily CENTCOM briefing April 7 from Camp As Sayliyah near Doha, Qatar. Additionally, 3rd Infantry Division units continued to secure Baghdad International Airport. Tunnels -- some large enough to accommodate vehicles -- have been found beneath and outside of the airport facility, he said. "It's important to note here also that there are still Iraqi workers in and around the airport, and many of those have assisted coalition forces, providing blueprints of the airport structure itself, and also helping to turn back on electrical power and other services and utilities at the airport," Brooks said. Brooks said coalition special operations forces are conducting direct action missions to secure the Hadithah Dam, to block the Iraqi regime's use of ballistic missiles, and to destroy regime headquarters locations. "In Basrah, coalition forces led by the U.K. [United Kingdom] enjoyed success in reducing some of the remaining concentrations of the Ba'ath Party, party officials and also regime forces," he said. "There are still some pockets, but they are far fewer. And as military actions continue against the regime, power, water and food are increasingly available to the population." Brooks said the towns of as Samawah, ad Diwaniyah, and an Najaf are all becoming more stable. "In Najaf, for example, religious clerics are contributing significantly to the stability in the wake of the regime's departure," he said. "They're organizing assemblies within the towns and they're maintaining order, and the coalition very much appreciates their efforts." He said that in Karbala, coalition forces destroyed the Ba'ath Party headquarters and fought against regime death squads. In other operations, Brooks said: -- Efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in Iraq have increased. The most pressing short-term requirements are restoring electricity and running water to the cities of an Najaf, as Samawah, an Nasiriyah, and to al Basrah. -- One of two oil well fires has been extinguished in the south and fire fighting crews continue to work on the remaining fire. Additionally, 900 of the 940 oil wells in the south are under coalition control. -- Coalition forces were aware of a convoy of Russian embassy personnel moving west from Baghdad to depart the country. "We have received reports ... that there was some sort of exchange of gunfire that hit part of the convoy as it moved," he said. "What we don't have is anything that would confirm the role of U.S. forces in that." (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
