08 April 2003
Coalition Continues to Target Iraqi Regime Leadership
(Central Command Report, April 8: Iraq Operational Update) (610) Washington -- Coalition forces received credible information that indicated some of the most senior Iraqi leadership was meeting April 7 at a building in Baghdad's al Mansour neighborhood, and an airstrike was conducted that effectively destroyed the building, a Central Command (CENTCOM) briefing officer said. "We had credible information that indicated that there was a regime leadership meeting occurring yesterday [April 7]," Army General Vincent Brooks said April 8 at the daily CENTCOM briefing outside Doha, Qatar. "As to who was inside and what their conditions are, it will take some time before we can make that full determination." Brooks said there is no way at the moment to determine if Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his two sons might have attended that meeting as has been reported widely, but the targeting was based on credible intelligence. "What we operate with is the information that leads us to it, and we are able, in some cases, to gather additional information after the strikes," Brooks said. "But time will have to tell exactly how effective that particular strike was, and others that we've done as well." A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber dropped four, precision-guided 2,000 pound bombs on the building, thought to be a restaurant, in the al Mansour section of Baghdad, a CENTCOM statement said about the bombing. The airstrike occurred about 2 p.m. local time (1100 GMT). Brooks said the coalition continues to target Saddam Hussein and his regime's leadership, and Iraqi command-and-control and protection systems and protective forces, in an effort to eliminate the influence of the regime and its ability to continue to control Iraqi military and paramilitary forces. In other developments, Brooks said special operations forces are now conducting operations across the country, and in and around Baghdad. "In the north, coalition special operations forces, in conjunction with Kurdish forces of northern Iraq, are maintaining pressure on the Iraqi military forces in that area, while preventing their movement to Tikrit or Baghdad," Brooks said. "In one engagement yesterday [April 7] near Irbill, in the north, our special operations forces, in conjunction with close air support, were able to destroy a force consisting of several armored personnel carriers, tanks, and infantry." Near Kirkuk, a special operations element defeated an armored counterattack, destroying several tanks, trucks and armored personnel carriers, he said. British-led coalition forces succeeded in reducing the final remaining concentrations of Baath Party officials and regime forces in al Basrah, he said. The remaining pocket, he said, was in the older section of the city and was cleared during the night. "By the time sun came up this morning [April 8], there were reports of jubilation in the streets," Brooks said. "The capture of two more Baath Party officials near the town of as Zubair, on the outskirts of Basrah, also reflects our ongoing efforts to rid the entire southern region of regime presence and influence," he said. Brooks said the main focus of current military operations continues to be around Baghdad. "In the east, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force attacked across the Diyala River into the southeast corner of Baghdad," he said. "They encountered forces, including T-72 tanks, armored personnel carriers, other armored vehicles, surface-to-surface missiles, artillery pieces, and numerous technical vehicles." The 5th Corps, led by the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, remained in the center of Baghdad overnight, he said. They continued attacks April 8 from the north and the south, and inside the heart of Baghdad, he said. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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