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Allies girding for
lethal strike on Baghdad
25/03/2003 13:16 - (SA)
Baghdad - Violent bombing south of Baghdad has moved the war front nearer the Iraqi capital, where explosions continued after the Saddam regime put two alleged United States helicopter pilots on national television.
The bombardment, which could be heard from the centre of the Iraqi capital, appeared to target the southern suburbs, where elite Republican Guard units protect the approach to President Saddam Hussein's seat of power.
Media correspondents heard allied aircraft roaring at high altitude over Baghdad, but the planes were invisible above the dark clouds emanating from fuel trenches ignited by Iraqi authorities on Saturday, apparently to block visibility during air attacks.
Cool, strong winds were whipping through the desert capital, where traffic progressed at a slow pace as residents ventured out to buy necessities or check on friends and family.
Most shops and businesses have been closed since the US-led coalition launched the war last Thursday to topple the Iraqi regime.
In Baghdad, the strikes have left about 30 civilians dead and more than 400 wounded, according to Iraqi figures.
'Airmen' shown on TV didn't speak
The morning bombardment came after overnight airstrikes pounded the Iraqi capital. Ground forces were within 100km of Baghdad, according to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Reports said the United States had opened a new phase of the war to oust Saddam's regime, by engaging a Republican Guard division near Baghdad for the first time with AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships.
State television aired a videotape late Monday, calculated to strike at the pride and prestige of US-led forces, of two men whose Apache attack helicopter it said had been shot down by a farmer in southern Iraq.
The men were not heard speaking and did not appear to be wounded.
The presenter said they were prisoners of war who would be treated in accordance with the Geneva conventions.
The footage came on the heels of Sunday night's gruesome pictures on Iraqi TV of the bloodied bodies of dead American servicemen and interviews with five shaken American POWs, which infuriated Washington and London.
After Sunday, the toughest day of fighting so far, US and British forces were preparing a multi-pronged push toward the capital.
The US-British troops pushing forward from the southern desert regions have encountered fierce resistance on reaching cities.
Reports said Saddam's elite troops had entrenched themselves mainly in Baghdad and his northern hometown of Tikrit.
Deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz, a veteran close aide to Saddam, said regular army troops were leading the resistance in the south and not elite Republican Guard units.
Saddam 'in total control'
Asked what coalition forces could expect from a battle in Baghdad, Aziz snarled at US claims that their soldiers would be met with applause and cheers from relieved Iraqis happy that the United States had come to "liberate" them from Saddam.
They would be welcomed in the same way as they were welcomed in the southern port of Umm Qasr, which is only tenuously held by US-led forces after days of bloody battles.
Aziz said Saddam still held the reins of power.
"Saddam Hussein is in total control of his country," he said. "Saddam Hussein is in total control of his armed forces and his people and the (ruling) Baath party ... We are all with him."
He ridiculed Western reports that Saddam and other members of the leadership might have been wounded or killed in the pinpoint strikes that marked the beginning of the US assault on Iraq on Thursday.
"All the members of the Iraqi leadership ... are in good shape, working courageously, effectively, according to the plan," Aziz said.
A uniformed Saddam on Monday gave a rousing televised address to the nation for the second time since the war began last week, vowing victory and calling on his troops to "slit the throats" of the invaders. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA
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