April 2, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 29, 1424

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KUWAIT CITY, April 1: Iraq brought up reinforcements for Republican Guard units defending the approaches to Baghdad, US officers said on Tuesday, as the US forces pressed their operations ahead of an expected major push on the capital.

The US army’s elite 101st Airborne Division stepped up its campaign around the city of Najaf, 150km from Baghdad, flying in Apache and Kiowa attack helicopters to support infantry troops, the officers said.

US commanders said their troops were within 100km of the capital. Some signalled a major tank battle could be shaping up in the next week.

The US army’s 20,000-strong 3rd Infantry Division, supported by the 101st Airborne, was south of Baghdad and geared for an attack. Two formations of US Marines were to its east.

The officers said mixed and matched elements of five Republican Guard divisions, elite troops backed by heavy armour, manned a southern arc in front of Baghdad, bracing for a decisive drive in the nearly two-week-old campaign.

There was no immediate estimate how many troops this would represent but it could run into the tens of thousands. Iraqi divisions normally comprise 12,000-15,000 troops.

Major John Altman, intelligence officer for the 3rd Infantry Division’s First Brigade, said the Iraqis were reinforcing the Republican Guard after days of air strikes and ground attacks by the US-led forces.

“What’s happening is that you reinforce the unit you expect to be in contact and you fill a unit that is attacked,” Maj Altman told AFP near Najaf.

He said the Republican Guard’s armoured Medina Division had been heavily battered by days of air strikes, artillery attacks and assaults by the tank-busting Apaches.

The Iraqis brought down from north of Baghdad elements of the armoured Hammurabi and mechanized Nebuchadnazzar divisions, Maj Altman said. Troops of the Al-Nida armoured and Adnan divisions were also in place south of the capital.

“Elements of five Republican Guard divisions are oriented along the southeast and southwest of Baghdad,” Maj Altman said.

The intelligence officer said fighting had been heavy around a key bridge that crosses the Euphrates river southwest of Karbala, 80km from Baghdad.

“We have made great headway,” Maj Altman said. “We can easily own the ground there and use the bridge.”

Col Greg Gass, the 101st’s aviation brigade commander, described the fighting on Monday as the heaviest his forces had been involved in since the start of the invasion on March 20.

“They fought pretty hard from first light (into the afternoon),” Col Gass said of the Iraqis, adding eight Apaches sustained hits “from just a hole in the rotor to significant tail damage.”

US officials also said the 3rd Infantry Division attacked Iraqi positions on Monday in quarries below Karbala.

They said elements of the 3rd Infantry Division also hit out northward at what they called pockets of Iraqi resistance in the area.

Two air defence artillery systems, two armoured personnel carriers, one artillery piece and nine technical vehicles were destroyed, they said. Several Iraqis were killed and about 30 taken prisoner.

US-British forces kept up their bombardment of Baghdad Tuesday, hitting the main presidential palace complex for the second consecutive day.

Iraqi officials said 18 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded in the British and US air strikes on the capital since Monday evening.

But the Americans also took another public relations hit on Tuesday when troops fearful of a fresh suicide attack opened fire on a civilian vehicle at a military checkpoint at Najaf, killing seven women and children.

The incident occurred three days after a suicide bombing killed four US soldiers and left other troops jittery. —AFP