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Iraq

Baghdad: Medina's destroyed, too

2003-04-02

CNN 1:26 PM EST
U.S. ground forces closed in south of Baghdad on multiple fronts Wednesday after battling Republican Guard troops protecting key routes to the Iraqi capital, military officials said. As night fell in the region, the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division was pushing north after seizing the city of Karbala, while Marines moved up from Kut and coalition warplanes were pounding Iraqi positions in northern Iraq, where Kurdish fighters were reporting gains.

Elements of the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry â the lead force of the 3rd Infantry â had advanced to within 25 miles of Baghdad, said CNN's Walter Rodgers, who is embedded with the unit. That report was cleared by 7th Cavalry officials. Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division fought and defeated troops from the Republican Guard's Medina Division earlier Wednesday at Karbala, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, U.S. Army officers said. "It's a very quick-moving, very fluid battle," said Capt. Brian McCort, the pilot of an Apache helicopter gunship. "The armor and mechanized infantry and artillery pieces on the ground are moving at rapid speeds." The 3rd Infantry's 1st and 3rd Brigades took Karbala with little effort, Army sources told Rodgers. The 1st Brigade faced only a few tanks and some mortars as it moved through town. The 3rd Brigade came in behind the 1st to secure the city.
Report on the radio a few minutes ago said there haven't been any casualties reporting in the past 24 hours. Wotta job!...
To the east, U.S. Marines faced little resistance as they moved northward in "bumper to bumper" traffic, CNN's Martin Savidge reported. Marines took a key bridge near Kut, about 100 miles east of Karbala, and crossed the Tigris River after a bloody battle with Republican Guard troops. In a briefing Wednesday afternoon, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said the Republican Guard Baghdad Division in Kut and the Medina Division were no longer "credible forces." Sporadic fighting continued along the route of the U.S. advance.
In Najaf, south of Karbala, Army officers said Iraqi soldiers have taken over the gilded dome of the Tomb of Ali, a landmark venerated by Shiite Muslims as the burial site of the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law. U.S. forces have avoided firing on the mosque, Brooks said.
In northern Iraq, coalition airstrikes targeted Iraqi positions outside the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. CNN's Brent Sadler called it a "ferocious bombardment" with "heavy explosions." Kurdish forces have taken over Iraqi troop positions and are within 15 miles of Kirkuk.
After heavy coalition bombing, Iraqi troops have disappeared from a ridge line close to Kalak, about 27 miles to the east of Mosul and on the main road between that city and Erbil, residents said. It was unclear if the forces had been ordered to pull back, or if they had fled the fighting.

Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#5 So: are the Republican Guard still elite?

pj: I think the idea is we control key points around Karbala but haven't done the kind of house-to-house clearance the Marines are doing in Nasiriyeh.

Posted by: Matt 2003-04-02 15:00:47

#4 Im pretty sure theyve bypassed Karbala, and Kut as well. Only cities we've really entered are Nassariya, and Najaf, in both cases because essential roads/bridges are inside the cities.

Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-02 14:58:49

#3 Can anybody answer about whether we sure about Karbala being taken in the sense that we have what we need and bypassed the rest or do we control the whole city?

Posted by: pj 2003-04-02 14:51:24

#2 I believe also the unit featured in the movie and book "we were soldiers then and young"...

Posted by: mjh 2003-04-02 14:48:34

#1 As an aside, I have been thinking about this and as I have seen no one make mention of it I will. The 3rd of the 7th is descended from the 7th Cavalry of General Custer fame.

Check out the unit history at
http://www.us7thcavalry.com/7-cav-3.htm

It makes for some interesting reading.

Lots of history there.

Posted by: Michael 2003-04-02 14:30:41

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