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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi police found 47 bodies around the capital Baghdad in the past 24 hours, most of whom appeared to have been the victims of sectarian violence, police said on Saturday.

Battle for Baghdad. Airs on Tuesday, August 23 at 9:00pm ET For 21 days in the spring of 2003, two US Army and Marine divisions race north across the Iraqi desert from Kuwait. Their mission: seize the Iraqi capital as quickly as possible. The planners of Operation Iraqi Freedom believe that taking Baghdad in a hurry will be like "cutting off the head of the snake" and will bring a speedy end to the war. But it won't be a cakewalk. A tenacious force of guerrilla fighters throw up roadblocks. They call themselves Saddam Fedayeen--Saddam's Men of Sacrifice. The Fedayeen...

IRAQ: The Battle for Baghdad Begins Again May 30, 2005: The government’s promised “ring of steel” around Baghdad began on Sunday, and, as expected, the terrorist groups began trying to get out of town before that. Thus the weekend saw much violence, with some fifty people, mostly civilians, killed in attacks and fighting concentrated in and around Baghdad. There were several gun battles between gangs of terrorists and the police. Operation Thunder began with loud noises. The terrorists are cornered and, increasingly, having their hideouts and workshops discovered and destroyed. While May has seen, so far, over 700 Iraqis (mostly...

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - The U.S.-led force in Iraq risks as many as 3,000 casualties in the battle for Baghdad and Washington has underestimated the number of troops needed, a top former commander from the 1991 Gulf War said on Monday. Retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the 24th Infantry Division 12 years ago, said the U.S.-led force faced "a very dicey two to three day battle" as it pushes north towards the Iraqi capital. "We ought to be able to do it (take Baghdad)," he told the Newsnight Programme on Britain's BBC Television late on Monday....

  West Point speaker was the ‘tip of the spear’ into IraqBy Joe Burlas Lt. Col. Rock Marcone, commander of the lead 3rd Infantry Division task force into Iraq last March, shares his units accomplishments with the West Point cadets in the class of 2005.USMA courtesy photo WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 25, 2004) -- When the U.S. Military Academy asks somebody to speak to cadets at a formal function, it is normally a well-known retired or active-duty general officer. But a relatively unknown lieutenant colonel was the guest speaker to the USMA class of 2005 at the end...

On the afternoon of April 4, Army Lt. Col. Eric Schwartz was summoned to a command tent pitched in a dusty field 11 miles south of Baghdad. His brigade commander, Col. David Perkins, looked up from a map and told Schwartz he had a mission for him. "At first light tomorrow," Perkins said, "I want you to attack into Baghdad." Schwartz felt disoriented. He had just spent several hours in a tank, leading his armored battalion on an operation that had destroyed dozens of Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles 20 miles south. A hot shard of exploding tank had burned...

VIII: The Story of a Palestinian Mujahid - Abu Khaled Al-Ahram's reporter Rasha Sa'ad interviewed a Palestinian fighter when he returned home. The following are excerpts from the interview: "'I cannot believe that I am alive. I was in hell and Allah brought me back,' said Abu Khaled, who joined other Arab volunteers in the battle at Baghdad's airport in early April. Abu Khaled's - not his real name - story begins one month earlier. It was back in March that Abu Khaled, a Palestinian, was deported from Jordan. Unable to immediately return to the West Bank, he had to...

<p>Baghdad -- In the final days before Baghdad fell, Saddam Hussein's son Qusai issued a series of military orders that sent thousands of elite Republican Guard troops to their certain death in the open countryside.</p> <p>According to accounts provided to The Chronicle by more than a dozen Iraqi military officials -- some of them still hiding from American forces -- the orders exposed the core of the Iraqi military to devastating U.S. air attacks and left the capital's defenses markedly weakened.</p>

<p>A garden where patients at the Central Teaching Hospital for Children could once stroll is now a cemetery. Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press.</p> <p>BAGHDAD, Iraq - The battle for Baghdad cost the lives of at least 1,101 Iraqi civilians, many of them women and children, according to records at the city's 19 largest hospitals.</p>

The Restoration of American AweFrom the May 12, 2003 issue: And the opening of the Arab mind.by Reuel Marc Gerecht 05/12/2003, Volume 008, Issue 34 THROUGHOUT THE MUSLIM MIDDLE EAST, the Battle of Baghdad was an enormously depressing non-event. The Arab media had expected the end of Saddam Hussein's regime to be "Basra-plus"--a valiant resistance blending Mogadishu with a hint of Stalingrad. Whether in Egypt's official journal of record, Al-Ahram, on the Arabic satellite-television station Al Jazeera, or on BBC radio and television, anti-American tacticians sounded similar themes. If the regime's paramilitary fedayeen could so surprise and frustrate the Americans...

Commander: U.S. Underestimated in Iraq By CHRIS TOMLINSON .c The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Before the capital fell, armchair generals painted gloomy scenarios of perilous street fighting and plenty of American dead in Baghdad. America could fight from the air, they said, but lacked the stomach for a fight on the ground. Wrong, insists the man who commanded the assault on Baghdad. Col. David Perkins, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division, says the war showed that Americans can fight in any environment. ``We did desert, we did swampland, we did canals, we...

Confused Start, Decisive End Invasion Shaped by Miscues, Bold Risks and Unexpected Successes By Rick Atkinson, Peter Baker and Thomas E. RicksWashington Post Foreign ServiceSunday, April 13, 2003; Page A01 BAGHDAD, April 12 -- It was the low point of the war for the two generals. On March 27, outside the city of Najaf, Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, commander of the U.S. Army's V Corps, met with Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division. As they sat on gray folding chairs in the desert wasteland, the war seemed to be in dismal shape.The critical crossroads...

Miscues, Confusion, Unexpected Successes Shaped Invasion Plan BAGHDAD, April 12 -- It was the low point of the war for the two generals. On March 27, outside the city of Najaf, Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, commander of the U.S. Army's V Corps, met with Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division. As they sat on gray folding chairs in the desert wasteland, the war seemed to be in dismal shape. The critical crossroads city of Nasiriyah had degenerated into a shooting gallery for U.S. convoys. An Army maintenance unit was ambushed on an overextended supply...

Later, much later, Lt Col Stephen Twitty, the commander of the 3rd Battalion 15th Infantry, would look at the map of Baghdad. "Objectives Curly, Larry and Moe - named 'em after the Three Stooges. Those three intersections will go down in history. They were three hellacious battles." As they rolled north along Highway 8 towards Baghdad's southern suburbs, the men had no idea that ahead lay desperate, 10-hour firefights against suicidal enemy soldiers - most of them Syrians intent on fighting a jihad rather than regular Iraqi army troops. They did not know that victory would allow a single infantry...

The global montage is created using satellite data, sea surface temperatures and observed land temperatures.(Updated every six hours.) The global composite images combine GOES, Meteosat, and GMS satellite data.( Updated every three hours.) Indian Ocean Infra-Red Image(Updates every six hours) Indian Ocean Visible Image(Updates every six hours) 48-Hour Forecast | Baghdad, Iraq FRIDAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING NIGHT Conditions Sunny. Mild. Sunny. Pleasantly warm. Sunny. Mild. Clear. Cool. Temp. 73° F 84° F 63° F 53° F Wind Speed / Dir. 15 mph / WNW 15 mph / WNW 11 mph / WNW 8 mph / NW Humidity 34% 18% 25% 32% Comfort Level 77° F 81° F 63° F 51° F...

U.S. Marines advance unopposed through NE Baghdad BAGHDAD, April 9 (Reuters) - Thousands of U.S. Marines moved block by block through Saddam City, a huge urban sprawl in northeast Baghdad, early on Wednesday, continuing to sqeeze out Iraqi resistance in the capital. Reuters correspondent Sean Maguire, travelling with a unit of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said troops met very little resistance, getting a largely warm reception as they swept the low-income residential district. Saddam City is home to two to three million Iraqis, mainly from the Shi'ite Muslim majority, who have traditionally been marginalised by the Sunni ruling elite,...

The global montage is created using satellite data, sea surface temperatures and observed land temperatures.(Updated every six hours.) The global composite images combine GOES, Meteosat, and GMS satellite data.( Updated every three hours.) Indian Ocean Infra-Red Image(Updates every six hours) Indian Ocean Visible Image(Updates every six hours) 48-Hour Forecast | Baghdad, Iraq TUESDAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING NIGHT Conditions N/A N/A High level clouds. Pleasantly warm. High level clouds. Mild. Temp. 83° F 74° F Wind Speed / Dir. 12 mph / NE 12 mph / E Humidity 28% 25% Comfort Level 81° F 76° F Visibility 30 miles 34 miles 6-Hour Precip. Probability 0% 0%...

T THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, near Baghdad, April 5 — Lt. Col. Eric C. Schwartz did not see much of Baghdad this morning as his battalion of roughly 60 tanks, Bradleys and other armored vehicles churned along Route 8, rumbling through first an industrial, then a residential zone not far from the city's center.All he recalled, when it was over, were the Iraqi soldiers, the artillery batteries, the trucks mounted with machine guns, the wisp and blast of rocket-propelled grenades, the whiz of bullets, the fiery explosions of cars packed, he assumed, with explosives."It was three hours of organized chaos," he...

HE said they are going to bring up brigers...

Iraqis Fighting Back in Baghdad Streets Mon April 7, 2003 11:38 AM ET By Khaled Yacoub Oweis BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi snipers crouched behind bridges and artillery fire rang out from almost every direction on Monday as Iraqi forces defended Baghdad against U.S. troops who had thrust into the heart of the city. The urban warfare that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein promised the invading forces finally began as dozens of U.S. tanks rumbled into the city of five million people and entered two presidential compounds on the west bank of the Tigris. "Iraqi forces are blocking streets all over town...

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Under cover of rattling machine-gun fire, Marines grabbed planks, poles and twisted rails Monday and surged across a shattered bridge over a Tigris River tributary into Baghdad.</p> <p>"Go! Go! Build that bridge!" an officer screamed, patting the troops as they ran under thundering fire to get more scrap to close a six-foot hole the Iraqis had blown in the span.</p>

The global montage is created using satellite data, sea surface temperatures and observed land temperatures.(Updated every six hours.) The global composite images combine GOES, Meteosat, and GMS satellite data.( Updated every three hours.) Indian Ocean Infra-Red Image(Updates every six hours) Indian Ocean Visible Image(Updates every six hours) 48-Hour Forecast | Baghdad, Iraq MONDAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING NIGHT Conditions N/A N/A Mostly sunny. Pleasantly warm. Passing clouds. Mild. Temp. 80° F 73° F Wind Speed / Dir. 10 mph / ESE 11 mph / ESE Humidity 26% 29% Comfort Level 79° F 76° F Visibility 32 miles 28 miles 6-Hour Precip. Probability 0% 0% 6-Hour Precip....

Apr. 7, 2003 Palestinian, Jordanian gunmen fighting in Baghdad By CAROLINE GLICK Baghdad The US Army's 3rd infantry division, 2-7 Mechanized Infantry Brigade, is involved in a fierce battle with Palestinian and Jordanian gunmen in the industrial area of southern Baghdad. The people shooting at US forces are using coordinated attacks using RPG's, suicide trucks, artillery, and sniper fire. Two journalists and two military personnel were killed in the coordinated attack by the Palestinian and Jordanian fighters. Military sources are saying that they know from prisoners of war that the Palestinian and Jordanian fighters are attempting to reorganize Iraqi resistance...

Sky News just said that in the field there have been rumours that the II Marine Expeditionary (14,000- 42,000 strong) is coming from the Northwest to launch a killing blow on Baghdad after wire reports noted that the Baghdad Government may fall in days, not weeks.The suprise force has been laying in wait for weeks in the deserts outside of Jordan.

AlJazeera is showing lengthy live video of a drone flying over Baghdad. Commentary on FNC that it's a Predator but appears like something else.

Baghdad, (Special to Iraq Press), April 3, 2003 – Many residents of this sprawling city of nearly 5.5 million people have received reports of the approaching U.S. troops with glee. Despite the repeated denials by the regime's propaganda, most people here now believe western media reports that the Americans are at the gates of Baghdad and it is only a matter of time before they storm the city. The sudden and startling advance has filled the hearts of Saddam Hussein's cronies, henchmen, and loyalists with fear. The residents tell Iraq Press that the remnants of the dreaded Mokhabarat have mounted...

By evening up to 2 Regular Iraqi Brigades and two Thousand Irregular Iraqi Militiamen were fighting for Baghdad International Airport. Americans had to use all available forces of the 3rd Mechanized Division and 101st Airborne Division to repulse the Iraqi attack. Assault aircraft and battle helicopters made 300 operation flights to this region.During the fight the Iraq Army lost up to 20 tanks, 10APC, about 200 men killed and up to 300 wounded. The American losses were up to 30 men killed, about 50 wounded, at least 4 tanks, 4APC and one helicopter. But it is impossbile to obtain the...

The U.S. military plan calls for winning Baghdad one section at a time to limit civilian casualties and win the Iraqi public's support. WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials call Saturday's quick trip by U.S. tanks through the streets of Baghdad a "windshield tour." But it marked the opening phase of a detailed strategy for taking control of the Iraqi capital one section at a time. To discourage resistance as the plan unfolds, the armored foray was meant to send what one Defense Department official called "a powerful message" that coalition forces can now penetrate Saddam Hussein's capital at will. Underscoring that...

Standing on the charred shell of an American Abrams tank, a group of Iraqi fighters wave their rocket launchers and guns defiantly in the air shouting "Bush! Bush! Listen! We like Saddam Hussein." Some are in uniform, others in civilian clothes. The foreign television cameras film the fighters, who are as excited as hunters standing over a slain elephant. Iraq's first trophy in the battle for Baghdad was presented to journalists yesterday. Mohammed Said al-Sahaf, minister for information, had a carnivorous smile to go with his triumphal tone yesterday. The Republican Guard has "routed the Americans from the airport", he...

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar April 6 — A U.S. military cargo plane landed at Baghdad's international airport late Sunday, the first known U.S. aircraft to arrive in the Iraqi capital, the U.S. Central Command said. Navy Lt. Mark Kitchens, a Central Command spokesman, confirmed the C-130 cargo and transport aircraft had landed at the airport but gave no details, citing operational security. U.S. forces say they have effective control over the airport, despite sporadic attacks including one Sunday against the 101st Airborne Division that left two Iraqis dead. U.S. forces seized Saddam International Airport after an all-night tank and infantry...

First U.S. plane lands at Baghdad airport BAGHDAD AIRPORT, April 6 (Reuters) - The first U.S. military aircraft landed at Baghdad airport on Sunday, a U.S. military source told Reuters. "At least one aircraft has landed at the airport," said the senior source in the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division's aviation brigade, who was at the airport. He said a C-130 military transporter landed at about 8 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), about an hour after dark, on the western, military side of the airport. He gave no details of whether it was carrying a load. U.S. forces seized the airport,...

SADDAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Baghdad (AFP) - US army troops fought their way Sunday to the Tigris river north of Baghdad, destroying an Iraqi tank battalion in the process, to complete their share of the encirclement of the capital, a US military official said. Major Ross Coffman said the army now held the western half of the planned ring around Baghdad, with the marines in process of joining up the eastern half, and the Tigris marking the boundary between them north and south of the city. "The army owns from river to river on the west side," said Coffman, who...

The global montage is created using satellite data, sea surface temperatures and observed land temperatures.(Updated every six hours.) The global composite images combine GOES, Meteosat, and GMS satellite data.( Updated every three hours.) Indian Ocean Infra-Red Image(Updates every six hours) Indian Ocean Visible Image(Updates every six hours) 48-Hour Forecast | Baghdad, Iraq SUNDAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING NIGHT Conditions N/A N/A Sunny. Pleasantly warm. High level clouds. Mild. Temp. 81° F 73° F Wind Speed / Dir. 11 mph / E 6 mph / SSE Humidity 20% 26% Comfort Level 79° F 76° F Visibility 38 miles 33 miles 6-Hour Precip. Probability 0% 0% 6-Hour Precip....

BAGHDAD AIRPORT, Iraq, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces are "just about there" in a bid to control all roads to Baghdad, a U.S. commander said on Sunday. U.S. military maps seen by Reuters showed that the sole main road still to be secured on the 18th day of the war was Highway 2, leading north to the oil city of Kirkuk. "We're just about there," Colonel Will Grimsley, commander of the 1st Brigade of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, told Reuters correspondent Luke Baker when asked if U.S. forces controlled all access to the capital. "Look at it from...

A dramatic blow-by-blow account of America's push into Baghdad was delivered from the turret of a tank yesterday by an embedded Fox News correspondent, Greg Kelly. As confusion reigned over the nature and extent of the US forces' grip on the Iraqi capital, television news networks relayed a to-camera report recorded live during the early stages of their initial push into the city. Surveying the scene from the top of a turret, a helmeted Kelly delivered his report as a column of US tanks from the 3rd Infantry Division surged along Route Eight into Baghdad's suburbs. His cameraman, Mal James,...

Iraqi regime defiant day after U.S. troops penetrate Baghdad 04/06/2003 Associated Press 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...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- In a stunning display of armored power, Task Force 1-64 knifed deep into the center of Baghdad on Saturday morning, in an effort to set up a main supply route to the airport. The surprise early morning move enabled the task force to link up with forces of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Baghdad International Airport, west of the capital. The move seemed to catch Iraqi defenders unawares as the task force of 700-plus soldiers rolled north on Highway 8 at first light and shot its way directly into the...

Heavy artillery fire in east Baghdad BAGHDAD, April 6 (Reuters) - Heavy artillery fire hit the residential area of Zayouneh in east Baghdad on Sunday, near to an Iraqi Olympic Committee building of President Saddam Hussein's son Uday, a Reuters witness said. Correspondent Samia Nakhoul said the sound of artillery and anti-aircraft fire could be heard from the area for several minutes. "It sounds like quite a big battle," she said. The Zayouneh area is largely residential but Iraqi artillery batteries are believed to be stationed there. It also houses the homes of some Iraqi officers. Earlier on Sunday reporters...

We are near the center of Baghdad again. Good luck and God's speed boys. PF

<p>April 6, 2003 -- TWO task forces from the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division just took their first tour of downtown Baghdad. The 3ID controls the city's international airport, while our airpower dominates the capital's skies. And the Marines are sweeping in from the Southeastern flank.</p>

US: 3,000 IRAQIS KILLED Between 2,000 and 3,000 Iraqis were killed when US troops moved through Baghdad on Saturday, US Central Command has said. Around 30 tanks and armoured vehicles swept through the city from the southern outskirts. They encountered fierce resistance in some areas and suffered a number of casualties. The operation was designed to show Saddam Hussein's regime that the city could be breached at any time, said one officer. US troops now hope to have Baghdad completely surrounded by the end of the day. A military spokesman said the US Army was moving in from the south-west,...

Apr 06, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Having penetrated Baghdad and neutralized its most potent defenders, U.S. troops Sunday were still facing intact Republican Guard troops north of the city and scattered irregulars who wielded control inside. Coalition planes dropped thousands of leaflets on the city, imploring citizens to stay inside their homes. U.S. officials told MSNBC that a large group of Republican Guard had communicated their willingness to surrender, but whether they were part of the force to the north was not known. MSNBC also reported that in the north of the country a U.S. warplane may...

AMMAN, Apr 06, 2003 (Kyodo via COMTEX) -- Eight Japanese "human shields" at a water-purification plant in Baghdad were ordered by Iraqi authorities to move to a hotel in the center of the city on Friday night, local sources said Saturday. The eight wanted to remain at the plant but Iraqi authorities would not allow them to do so citing security reasons, the sources said. The plant is located about 10 kilometers south of the center of the city. The move appears to be intended to keep the human shields away from conflict as substantial U.S. forces supported by tanks...

<p>April 6, 2003 -- GIs delivered another humiliating blow to Saddam Hussein's rotting regime when they captured the headquarters of the Republican Guard's Medina Division southwest of Baghdad yesterday.</p> <p>Two tank companies and an infantry company of the 3rd Infantry Division waltzed into the vipers' nest of the vaunted Medinas utterly unopposed.</p>

Baghdad — U.S. troops dashed inside Baghdad on Saturday, blasting targets nestled in palm trees, to show they can move at will against Iraq's beleaguered defenders. Allies adapted their air campaign to prepare for a climactic ground assault on the capital. Saddam Hussein's black-clad militia suddenly surfaced in downtown Baghdad and Iraqi troops deployed at strategic city points at nightfall, in preparation for a showdown. But tens of thousands of citizens fled, no longer believing the assurances of their leaders that the American ground campaign was being beaten back. U.S. officials declared a near chokehold on the capital even while...

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq - Deafening explosions rocked central Baghdad early Sunday as Iraqi troops, members of President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Fedayeen militia and teenage soldiers patrolled streets to protect the capital from U.S.-led forces. AP Photo (AP Video) Latest news: · Coalition faces challenge of limiting damage to Iraq's heritageAFP - 16 minutes ago · U.S. Death Toll in Iraq War Rises to 79Reuters - 17 minutes ago · American Forces Probe Baghdad Defenses AP - 22 minutes ago Special Coverage   U.S. armor penetrated the city early Saturday for the first...

NEAR BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Streams of U.S. tanks and armored vehicles rumbled over the Euphrates in the early hours of Sunday as U.S. forces bolstered positions around Baghdad. "We're pushing the bulk of the 3rd Infantry Division over the Euphrates toward Baghdad," said Colonel John Peabody, commander of the Engineer Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division. Reuters correspondent Luke Baker, with the Engineer Brigade about 15 miles from Baghdad airport, said he heard a constant rumble of tanks, armored personnel carriers and fuel trucks push up toward Baghdad through the night. He said units of the 3rd Infantry Division...

<p>Fox truely has spectacular footage of the 3rd Infantry Division as it fought its way into Baghdad and they are right to tout this exclusive video.</p> <p>But absolutely idiotic is the director that shows only 3/4 of it while hiding the other 1/4 of the screen behind a banner of nonsense. Fox might be the most watched Cable News Channel but it's obvious the director is not one of those watching the coverage. Someone at Fox is not paying attention.</p>

If Baghdad doesn't fall, it will crumble Julian Thompson Sunday April 6, 2003 The Observer What next in Baghdad? At least one American armoured wedge has penetrated the city. There may be more. There is a report of a US tank commander being killed. They are following an American doctrine: reconnaissance by strong armoured units. It is possible that the 101st Airborne Division is being brought to Baghdad airport to follow up. The 'Centcom' command centre at Qatar is playing this very close to the chest. They are relaxed about finding Saddam and are heading for centres of power. We...