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AP
Iraqi men, seen in this image from video, stand on a tank that they claim was captured from American forces Sunday.Posted on 04/06/2003 7:04:08 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Iraqi regime defiant day after U.S. troops penetrate Baghdad
04/06/2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The burnt-out husks of Iraqi tanks littered one of the main roads in Baghdad on Sunday, one day after American troops muscled through the city, but regime leaders remained defiant and appealed for calm.
The streets were crawling with black-clad Fedayeen militia, the armed loyalists of the ruling Baath Party, and teenagers with guns.
As the scream of rockets pierced Baghdad's skies, Iraqi troops clambered up what they claimed was an allied tank destroyed in a Sunday morning battle. They made "V" for victory signs and chanted slogans in support of President Saddam Hussein.
U.S. officials at Central Command said coalition soldiers killed up to 3,000 Iraqi troops in Saturday's incursion. But Iraqi leaders denied heavy casualties and took pains to show they were still in control.
Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf tried to take the initiative in the psychological tug-of-war, warning Baghdad residents against "rumors" and "lies."
AP Iraqi men, seen in this image from video, stand on a tank that they claim was captured from American forces Sunday. |
"Open your eyes and keep your minds alert to be able to differentiate between information and the inadequate ones," he said in a press briefing.
He urged residents to remain calm and warned them against firing guns without being told to do so.
The burnt hulk of the purported allied tank teetered precariously on the edge of a crater on a highway leading out of Baghdad. Journalists taken to the site saw no sign of other U.S. tanks Iraqi officers said had been destroyed.
Along the way, however, the skeletons of about 30 Iraqi tanks, armored personnel carriers, army trucks and other vehicles could be seen along the roadside.
Soldiers of the elite Republican Guard hunkered down for urban warfare. Armed with Kalashnikovs and mortars, they dug fresh trenches and fortified old ones. Some took over houses close to the city's southern approaches.
Government-owned Iraqi television showed footage Saturday of Saddam meeting with his sons Odai and Qusai, although it was unclear when the meeting took place.
Most of Sunday's early morning hours were quiet; the drone of aircraft flying overhead was frequently heard, but there was no anti-aircraft fire. At around 6 a.m. Sunday, there was a series of loud explosions.
During the day Saturday, Iraqi tanks, armored personnel carriers and field artillery were deployed in the capital, facing the western, southern and northern entrances that U.S. forces were believed most likely to use.
"I am not afraid to die," said 16-year-old Thamer Mekki, an eighth-grader in blue jeans who says he learned how to shoot a gun at 14.
"I am doing this for my country," said Mekki, standing guard in the upscale Mansour district.
U.S. troops traveled north into the capital Saturday, turned west at the Tigris River, then out of the city and toward the airport, American military officials said.
During the sweep, the Americans came under intense fire from Republican Guards with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.
Some new sites were hit by coalition bombs overnight, including the National Assembly across the street from the al-Rasheed Hotel, a police headquarters in central Baghdad and the telephone exchange of al-Maamoun.
Power returned to most of Baghdad on Saturday, two days after the city went dark.
Likely HERE ? Or cowering under a rock.
The burnt hulk of the purported allied tank teetered precariously on the edge of a crater on a highway leading out of Baghdad. Journalists taken to the site saw no sign of other U.S. tanks Iraqi officers said had been destroyed.
Along the way, however, the skeletons of about 30 Iraqi tanks, armored personnel carriers, army trucks and other vehicles could be seen along the roadside.
Yes, please do (*bang!*) make yourselves (*bang!*) as conspicuous as (*bang!*) possible. Thank you, drive through!
Lovely and brilliant!
In an article yesterday, a reporter in Baghdad watched scores of Baghdaddies cheering and shouting in the streets when Bozo announced that the airport was firmly back in Iraqi control. They fell for it!
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