Battle Digest - 13 April 2003
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Seven U.S. POWs are rescued
near Tikrit. Five are members of the U.S. Army's 507th Maintenance
Company, and two are Apache helicopter pilots.
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Saddam Hussein's half-brother,
Watban Ibrahim al-Tikriti, is captured by US and Kurdish
forces.
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Marines have entered Tikrit
and were apparently facing heavy resistance inside the city.
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President Bush warns Syria
not harbor wanted Iraqi officials, and also claims that
the country may have chemical weapons.
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U.S. troops are once again
under heavy fire near Baghdad's Palestine Hotel.
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Battle Digest - 12 April 2003
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A warhead found on a base
in Kirkuk came up positive in preliminary tests for nerve
agents. In addition, an Iraqi Army colonel has come forward
with information about chemical armaments in the area.
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Lt. General Amir al-Saadi,
Saddam's top scientific aide, surrendered Saturday to U.S.
forces. He was the first on the coalition's list of most
wanted Iraqis to give himself up.
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Iraqi police and U.S.
troops are now working in conjunction to quell looting in
Baghdad. The city's major antiquities museum was among the
institutions ransacked in the chaos.
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Vice Adm. Timothy Keating
announced that the U.S. would cut its fleet of aircraft
carriers in the area. The USS Kitty hawk will probably be
the first to leave.
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Heavy fighting between
Kurds and Arabs is reported in the city of Mosul. U.S. troop
had earlier withdrawn from the city's airport after coming
under fire.
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Battle Digest - 11 April 2003
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White House says Saddam
Hussein's "regime is gone."
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Coalition rushes to place
units to prevent looting and chaos in Iraq
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"Most Wanted" list of
55 former regime leaders released. List released in the
form of a 55 card deck for easy identification purposes.
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Marines capture suspected
would-be suicide bomber at a checkpoint in Baghdad.
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At Iraq's Tuwaitha nuclear
complex, military officials investigate possible radiation.
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Battle Digest - 10 April 2003
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Heavy fire fight around
north-east Baghdad mosque. Senior Iraqi leadership suspected
of inside mosque. A small number of coalition casualties
were reported. No iraqi leadership officials were found.
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Family member says prominent
Shiite Muslim cleric was executed by Baath party loyalists.
Sayed Abdul Majid al-Khoei was expected to rally support
for the coalition occupation of Iraq in the Shitte community.
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Video of Bush broadcast
to Iraq, "at this moment the regime of Saddam Hussein is
being removed from power."
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U.S. moves "the
mother of all bombs" to forward position. Being the
largest conventional bomb, the MOAB weights 21,000 pounds.
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Battle Digest - 9 April 2003
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Dozens of Iraqis
attempted to tear down statue of Saddam in Baghdad
city center. U.S. vehicle moved in after a while to
help raze the statue of the former dictator.
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U.S. authorities
say most forces resisting the coalition occupation
of Baghdad have given up.
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No conclusive evidence
has been found yet to determine if Saddam and his
2 sons were killed in coalition airstrike.
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Coalition forces
search for crew of Airforce F-15E
Strike Eagle that went down near Tikrit in hostile
territory.
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U.S. to host conference
for opposition leaders to discuss the creation of
an interim authority to replace Saddam. Participants
will include leaders from both sides of the country
and will be held in Nasiriya.
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Northern Iraq sees
some of the heaviest bombing since the war began.
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Battle Digest - 8 April 2003
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101st
Airborne Division 3rd Brigade, battle Fedayeen
Saddam fighters for control of the city of Hillah.
Hillah is located 50 miles south of Baghdad.
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U.S. Marines
in southeastern Baghdad found scores of chemical suits,
as well as masks and a box of atropine injectors.
The chemical weapons related paraphernalia appear
to have been hastily abandoned in a field that coalition
forces targeted with airstrikes.
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U.S. Special forces
are trying to dislodge Baath party forces dug in between
the northern cities Mosul and Kirkuk. Forces battle
for control of strategic hiway between the 2 cities.
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A residence suspected
to contain Saddam Hussein and his 2 sons hit with
airstrikes in Baghdad.
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Senior U.S. officials
said Iraq now has 19 tanks out of its original fleet
of 800. Remnants of the Republican Guard continue
to battle around Baghdad but have no armor and are
not organized.
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Small arms skirmishes
are still common in Baghdad in the absence of any
organized resistance from Baath party loyalists.
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Battle Digest - 7 April
2003
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101st
Airborne Division conducts tests on chemical
agents found near Karbala. Chemical agents may
prove to be nerve and blister agents.
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An Iraqi missile
slammed into the operations center for the U.S.
Army's 2nd Brigade of the 3rd
Infantry Division in Baghdad.
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British find
body of Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid.
Iraq's southern commander was known as "Chemical
Ali".
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Coalition
forces capture strategically significant ridge
between Kirkuk and Mosul in north.
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As previous
incursions were characterized as raids and reconnaissance
missions, Army sources said that the 2nd Brigade
units will not withdraw from Baghdad.
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Coalition
forces destroy numerous Iraqi tanks, armored
personnel carriers and infantry units northwest
of Baghdad.
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Battle Digest - 6 April
2003
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U.S. forces
claims control over nearly all access to the
encircled capital, as forces from the 3rd Infantry
Division continue incursions into the center
of Baghdad.
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Baghdad Airport
is now secure enough to allow landings by C-130
and C-117 cargo aircraft.
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U.K. forces
attack Baath Party Headquarters in Basra as
troops from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and
the Black Watch move into heart of the city.
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At least 18
Kurdish guerrillas die and 45 are wounded in
a friendly-fire incident in northern Iraq. Wageeh
Barzani, the brother of Kurdistan Democratic
Party leader Masoud Barzani is among the injured.
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Five Russian
diplomats are wounded as their convoy leaving
Baghdad is caught in crossfire.
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Battle Digest - 5 April
2003
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Elements
of the 3rd Infantry venture deep into the heart
of Baghdad to demonstrate the coalition's ability
to exert control over the battle scene.
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Coalition
aircraft strike the Basra home of Saddam Hussein's
cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid. Iraq's southern
commander is known as "Chemical Ali" for his
role in the 1988 gas attacks that killed thousands
of Kurds.
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An enormous
explosion rocks the center of Baghdad, right
next to the Palestine Hotel where most foreign
journalists are staying.
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Air Force
Lt. Gen. Michael Moseley, commander of the U.S.
air campaign, says that Iraq's Republican Guard
units are no longer an effective fighting force.
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CNN is reporting
that Baath party members are among the many
thousands of Iraqis leaving the capital.
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Iraqi television
presents pictures of Saddam Hussein with sons
and other military leaders.
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Battle Digest - 4 April
2003
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Large numbers
of civilians are fleeing Baghdad, in anticipation
of the battle for the city
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U.S. troops
have control of Baghdad airport. 101st
Airborne guarding the facility.
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An Iraqi man
alerted U.S. to the location of PFC Jessica
Lynch and helped plan the rescue. His wife worked
as a nurse at the hospital where Lynch was kept.
He provided key intelligence and maps. He and
his family have been granted refugee status.
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Iraqi Information
Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf warns of unconventional
attack
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Saddam speech
references recent events
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Washington
Post reporter Michael Kelly first American journalist
killed
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President
Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair will
meet in Northern Ireland next week to discuss
the battle and post-war plans for Iraq.
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Battle Digest - 3 April
2003
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U.S. troops
(the Army’s 3rd
Infantry Division) at Baghdad's international
airport, 12 miles from the city center.
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The DoD said
that intelligence determined that the recent
tapes of Saddam were made before the war started,
on 19 March. The CIA said this was likely, but
said it has not definitively concluded this.
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Several outlying
areas of Baghdad have been captured.
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Dead Iraqi
soldiers all carrying gas masks outside of Baghdad.
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President
met with the families of fallen Marines at Camp
Lejeune
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The father
of Army PFC Jessica Lynch said that she did
not receive any knife or gunshot wounds during
the rescue
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Battle Digest - 2 April
2003
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The 1st and
3rd Brigades of the 3rd
Infantry seized the city of Karbala, 50
miles south of Baghdad with "very little effort."
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Baghdad Division
of Republican Guard decimated by U.S. forces
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U.S. forces
close on Baghdad. Coalition forces within 25
miles of Iraqi capital.
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Colin Powell
proposes plan to keep Turkey and Kurds out of
conflict.
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American POW
has been rescued. 11 bodies found in hospital
along with chemical suits and command and control
elements.
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Battle Digest - 1 April
2003
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Focus of U.S.
strategy may be moving to the seige of Iraqi
capital.
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U.S. forces
make contact with Saddam's "most prized forces"
south of Baghdad
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Iraqi Information
Minister delivers message from Saddam to Iraqi
people calling for Jihad.
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Colin Powell
leaves for Turkey. The Secretary of state's
mission is to repair strained relations between
U.S. and Turkey.
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Geraldo Rivera
and Pentagon make a deal. Geraldo is to leave
Iraq on his own.
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Battle Digest - 31 March
2003
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Heavy bombing
of Iraqi forces south of Baghdad has resulted
in key Republican Guard Division's effectiveness
being reduced by half.
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Clean water
has begun to flow from Kuwait to Umm Qasr at
the rate of 600,000 gallons a day
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Marines conduct
raids searching for Iraqi Gen. Ali Hassan al
Majeed. This General is known as "Chemical Ali"
because of ordering the use of chemical weapons
on the Kurds in the past.
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The 82nd
Airborne Division neutralized nearly 100
"terror squad members" and captured 50 other
Iraqi prisoners in southern Iraq.
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Geraldo Rivera
being expelled from Iraq for giving away big
picture operational details, officials say.
Details included locations and future plans
of U.S. forces.
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Battle Digest - 30 March
2003
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British Royal
Marines capture a general and four other Iraqi
officers near Basra. An Iraqi colonel is also
killed in the raid.
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Civilian trucker
drives into U.S. soldiers at Camp Udairi in
Kuwait injuring at least ten. Early reports
say he may be an Egyptian electrician who was
working on the base.
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Baghdad bombing
raids concentrate on Republican Guard units
defending the city. Air attacks on the capital
are now being carried out around the clock.
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Marine units
focus on securing supply lines in drive toward
Baghdad. The route has been vulnerable to ambushes
by Iraqi militia.
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Marines now
control southern embankment of Euphrates River
in Nasiriya. Still facing fierce resistance
from northern side of the river. |
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Battle Digest - 29 March
2003
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An Iraqi army
officer carries out a suicide attack near Najaf
that kills four US soldiers in the Army's 3rd
Infantry Division. Iraq vows more such attacks
as a matter of policy.
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US Central
Command denies widespread reports that there
will be a 4-6 day pause in operations.
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US Marines
say they have discovered chemical warfare protection
gear in an Iraqi facility near Nasiriya.
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British troops
encircle Basra in an effort to break the Baath
Party's stranglehold on the city. U.S jets destroy
a building in the Basra where Irqai militaimen
were gathered.
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Republican
Guard units inside Baghdad are targeted as intense
bombing of the city continues. The US reviews
options for an assault on the capital. |
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Battle Digest - 28 March
2003
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Coalition
forces having problems dealing with unconventional
Iraqi tactics.
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U.S. forces,
including the 2nd
Marines, are making headway into Nasiriya
against moderate resistance.
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Concerns over
mines continue to delay the delivery of humanitarian
aid to port of Umm Qasr.
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British forces
report, Iraqi military firing on civilians trying
to leave Basra.
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RFA Sir Galahad
humanitarian aid ship arrives in Umm Qasr.
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Officials
are saying they believe Saddam Hussein is alive
and commanding his forces from Baghdad.
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Battle Digest - 27 March
2003
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B-52
bombers hammer Iraqi convoy about 60 miles
south of Baghdad
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Concerns over
mines continue to delay the delivery of humanitarian
aid to port of Umm Qasr.
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12 Marines
missing and 14 wounded in fighting around Nasiriya.
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President
Bush says the war will last "however long it
takes to win".
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Officials
are saying they believe Saddam Hussein is alive
and commanding his forces from Baghdad.
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Battle Digest - 26 March
2003
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3000 chemical
suits found in central Iraq hospital may be
indicative of Ba'ath partie's intention to use
chemical weapons.
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War planners
may have miscalculated the strength and capability
of Iraq paramilitary militia known as the Saddam
Fedayeen.
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Trucks carrying
12 tons of food,and water arrived in the port
City Umm Qasr.
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The Pentagon
confirms a second serviceman has died due to
wounds suffered in a grenade attack in Kuwait
that has been blamed on a U.S. Army sergeant.
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14 Iraqi civilians
killed when cruise missiles went astray and
impact in residential area.
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President
Bush says,"We will be relentless in our pursuit
of victory."
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Battle Digest - 25 March
2003
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In the face
of a blinding sandstorm and sporadic resistance
from Iraqi troops, allied forces push forward
to Baghdad, as the first of the U.S. Army's
3rd
Infantry Division rolled across the Euphrates
River.
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Shiite majority
in Basra have started a popular uprising against
Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party and forces. The
uprising is being supported by British troops.
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Six vehicles
loaded with weapons and ammunition were seized
by a U.S. Army infantry battalion. Two Iraqi
men were killed and 11 were captured. Seizure
took place near an Iraqi air base outside An
Nasiriyah.
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In ongoing
fighting near Najaf up to 300 Iraqi troops may
have been killed in what could be largest battle
so far.
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Battle Digest - 24 March
2003
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Build-up of
coalition forces continues in Northern Iraq,
an indication the northern front may be opening
soon. Previously, 20 to 30 special operations
forces were in Northern Iraq, but steady arrivals
of planes on 2 major airstrips is sign number
of forces are growing rapidly.
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After U.S.
Apache
attack helicopters fought an intense battle
with units of Iraq's Republican Guard south
of Baghdad, Iraqi television showed what appeared
to be a downed Apache helicopter. U.S. central
command is confirming one Apache
helicopter is missing.
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Saddam Hussein
addressed Iraq Monday, urging the people and
military to be patient with the promise that
"victory is soon." He appeared to be trying
to rally his people as U.S. and British forces
were advancing hastily toward the Iraqi capital
of Baghdad.
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Battle Digest - 23 March
2003
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12 U.S. troops
are missing, after going astray and being ambushed
by Iraqi irregulars at Nasiriyah, a major crossing
point over the Euphrates River. The soldiers
were part of an Army supply convoy. Six coalition
vehicles were also destroyed.
- Al-Jazeera TV shows video
of U.S. soldiers killed
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Marines from
the 15th
Marine Expeditionary Unit are battling in
Nasiriyah, and are encountering heavy resistance.
They've suffered some casualties. It's been
reported that a troop carrier was hit with a
rocket-propelled grenade.
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There's a
new round of bombing in Baghdad, which has been
characterized as possibly the most intensive
yet.
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The Washington
Post and Fox News have reported that Russian
firms have sold GPS jammers, anti-tank missiles
and thousands of night-vision goggles to Iraq.
Some technicians from one company were in Baghdad
this week, instructing the Iraqis on how to
use the equipment. The U.S. has protested the
aid.
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Battle Digest - 22 March
2003
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Iraq's 51st
Infantry Division, numbering 8,000 soldiers,
surrendered to coalition forces in southern
Iraq Friday, as coalition forces advanced toward
Basra.
This division was one of Iraq's regular army's
better equipped and trained. It was the key
division responsible protecting Basra, a major
transportation and oil shipment center leading
to the Persian Gulf.
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Senior Iraqi
leadership in complete disarray. "The confusion
of Iraqi officials is growing," Rumsfeld said
at a Pentagon briefing. "Their ability to see
what is happening on the battlefield, to communicate
with their forces and to control their country
is slipping away."
Rumsfeld said the bombing was stepped up Friday
after senior Iraqi officers failed to turn against
Saddam following initial U.S. airstrikes
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Battle Digest - 21 March
2003
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Pentagon officials
state that today is "A-Day," the day a campaign
of "shock
and awe" missile attacks will hit Iraq.
Campaign will hit "several hundred" leadership,
Republican Guard and intelligence service targets.
9 p.m. Iraq time (1 p.m. EST): Baghdad comes
under missile attack. U.S.-led forces also strike
Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, and the northern
Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The first explosions in
Kirkuk are heard shortly before 8 p.m. Friday
(noon EST).
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Coalition
forces take control of the Al Faw Peninsula,
including the port of Umm Qasr, Iraq's only
outlet to the Gulf. A second Marine from the
1st
Marine Expeditionary Force is killed during
the fight for Umm Qasr.
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U.S. and British
troops seize two strategically important airfields,
H-2 and H-3, as well as oil fields in western
Iraq. A U.S. Marine from the 1st
Marine Expeditionary Force is killed during
the oil field operation, the first coalition
combat fatality of the war.
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A U.S. Marine
CH-46
helicopter crashes in northern Kuwait, 9
miles south of the Iraqi border. All 12 people
on board -- 8 British military personnel and
4 American crew members -- are killed.
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Battle Digest - 20 March
2003
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British troops
move into the Al Faw Peninsula.
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Iraq launches
Scud missiles into Kuwait. No targets hit; some
intercepted by Patriot missiles.
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Cruise missiles
and F-14 and F-18 jets launched from USS
Theodore Roosevelt and other carriers in
strikes on Baghdad.
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