March 31, 2003	Monday	Muharram 27, 1424

* Fresh explosions in central Baghdad, large oil-filled trench ablaze; Bombers circle Kirkuk where loud blasts heard

* Rumsfeld says no plans for pause or ceasefire, claims Iraq’s banned weapons stockpiled in Baghdad, Tikrit

* Truck ploughs into soldiers at US base in Kuwait injuring 10-15 troops, says US military

* Some US troops say land advance may pause for several weeks; Military “reshaping” for next stage, says UK minister

* Islamic Jihad says it has suicide bombers in Baghdad after Iraq says more than 4,000 Arabs go to Iraq as willing “martyrs” against US-led invasion

QUOTES

Rumsfeld on Iraq’s possible possession of banned weapons: “The area in the south and the west and the north that coalition forces control is substantial...It happens not to be the area where weapons of mass destruction were dispersed.”

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on sending “martyrs” to Iraq: “This is to fulfil the holy duty of defending Arab and Muslim land.”

US Joint Chiefs of Staff head General Myers on altering methods to cope with suicide attacks: “I think we can adjust our tactics and techniques to overcome that threat.”

CASUALTIES

* US - 36 killed, 17 missing

* U.K. - 23 killed

* Iraqi military - no confirmed figures

* Iraqi civilians (Iraqi estimates) - 589 killed, 4,582 injured

MILITARY ACTION

BAGHDAD: Explosions rock Baghdad, large oil-filled trench ablaze; government targets hit

SOUTHERN IRAQ: British Royal Marines clash with paramilitaries south of Basra, says UK spokesman

Defence official says troops from US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division placed near Nassiriya to protect supply lines

NORTHERN IRAQ: General Franks says the US has attacked and destroyed a “terrorist facility” in northern Iraq in the last 48 hours. He did not name the group but the Ansar al-Islam group has several hundred fighters in the area.—Reuters