Posted on 03/27/2003 2:16:11 AM PST by HAL9000
NEAR KARBALA, Iraq (AP) - The ferocious sandstorm that halted the U.S. drive on Baghdad lifted Thursday and coalition warplanes were back in the sky in force, blasting Iraqi light armor that probed American lines as troops resumed their advance 50 miles south of the capital.Troops awoke to bright sunshine after a night when temperatures dipped into the 30s. Small groups of Iraqi armored personnel carriers -- ranging from three to six vehicles -- tested U.S. defenses.
When the Iraqis closed within 10 miles, they were blasted by coalition warplanes that again ranged the skies above all of Iraq as the weather front blew east into Iran after creating one of the biggest sandstorms in recent memory. The bad weather, with near zero visibility, had dramatically slowed the coalition drive toward the Iraqi capital.
The soldiers cheered as they watched the planes destroy two APCs on the horizon to the north. Similar explosions from bombing runs farther north could be heard but not seen.
A squad of tanks was sent to check results of the strike and found a damaged pipeline spilling an estimated 1,000 gallons of what was believed to be diesel fuel each second. Army engineers worked to stanch the flow.
The Marines were covered with powdery sand after the storm. Many had been sleeping on vehicle seats for four nights running and emerged into the clear morning stiff and unrested. They tried cleaning themselves with wet wipes and shaved in the cold morning air.
Many said they were frustrated by the slow movement of their convoy because of the intense storm. Wednesday afternoon, mortars fell on both sides of the road in the distance. The troops also came under small arms fire from a cluster of buildings and what appeared to be a silo about 150 yards off the road.
Marines responded with almost every weapon in their arsenal, firing .50 caliber machine guns mounted on humvees, using their M16s and a few even shooting off 9 mm pistols. The Marines launched two wire-guided TOW missiles, missing with the first one. The second slammed into the buildings. Someone yelled "good shot!"
North of Najaf, southeast of the deepest advance to around Karbala, Lt. Col. B.P. McCoy, commanding officer of Marine 3rd Battery, 4th Regiment said this regiment was engaged in fighting Wednesday but had not met significant Iraqi resistance Thursday.
He said the troops were still moving toward Baghdad and expect to meet regular Iraqi military. The Marines have been running into people taking potshots at them, but had not encountered concentrations of Republican Guards. The troops had slowed considerably, and made only 6 miles on Wednesday as they searched roadsides to clear guerrilla attackers.
"Our job now is killing," McCoy said, referring to Iraqi resistance.
To the south, British forces reported artillery and aircraft had destroyed part of a column of 120 Iraqi tanks and other vehicles that broke out of the besieged city of Basra. Air Marshall Brian Burridge also said a smaller column of 20 Iraqi vehicles had attacked British forces around the city Tuesday and had been destroyed.
"We've come up against some stiff opposition," he told a briefing.
Burridge said many of the destroyed vehicles were manned by conscripts and regular army troops who had been rounded up by paramilitary forces loyal to Saddam to keep them from deserting.
"This isn't a formation that really knows its business," he said. "You are not dealing with forces that can maneuver."
He urged patience in efforts to secure Basra, saying there were still paramilitary forces in the city. Burridge said British forces had also attacked 11 Iraqi mortar positions and some T-55 tanks during fighting around the city.
North of Basra in Nasiriyah, Marines were reported to have fought house-to-house battles. A reporter for WTVD in Durham, N.C., attached to the Camp Lejeune Marines, said at least 25 Marines had been injured. He said Marines were using flares to light areas so they could see their enemy.
I like it.
Scott Ritter ought to worry about his penchant to have little girls watch him masturbate rather than flap his lips.
ANd the Iragis know it, and are in control of the source. Want to risk them putting something into the pipeline that would mess up all our tank engines?
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