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| Iraq |
| Kurdish forces press closer to Kirkuk after air strikes |
| 2003-04-08 |
| Edited for length: Kurdish forces tightened their ring around the key oil center of Kirkuk to advance within sight of the city Tuesday following heavy coalition airstrikes on front-line Iraqi positions. The Kurdish militia took control of the strategic Sekamian plateau, about six miles north of Kirkuk, the center of Iraq's No. 2 oil region, Kurdish media reported. The area affords a commanding view of the city and the vast oil fields. Took the high ground, did they? Kurdish forces -- aided by coalition airstrikes and U.S. ground troops -- have steadily moved closer to Kirkuk and Mosul in the past week but have stopped short of mobilizing all-out offensives. Some military officers believe the northern front will attempt to pin down Iraqi troops while U.S. forces solidify control of Baghdad. There are also fears a battle to claim Kirkuk could lead Iraqi troops to set the oil fields ablaze. There was a oil industry expert on Nightline last week that said he didn't think the Iraqis could set the fields on fire very easy. He said the northern oil fields are old and there is no pressure left to force oil out of the wells. The Western-allied Kurds seized the territory north of Kirkuk after skirmishes that left at least three Kurdish fighters dead, Kurdish reports said. Coalition airstrikes then drove back Iraqi troops toward the heavily defended city -- the main prize of the northern front and considered by Iraqi Kurds as part of their ethnic homeland. Kurdish fighters also are closing in from the southeast. Coalition airstrikes hammered Iraqi positions near Kirkuk until early Tuesday, sending up huge flashes that lit the sky, officials and witnesses said. Kurdish soldiers, taking up front-line positions abandoned by the Iraqis, described occasionally intense resistance from the Iraqi military. Iraqi mortar fire destroyed a key bridge in Laylan, about 12 miles southeast of Kirkuk. There were no reports of casualties. At another front-line position -- the town of Dibagah near a key crossroads on the main Kirkuk-Mosul road -- fighting eased after battles that left at least 10 Iraqi tanks disabled. Iraqi forces have retaliated with artillery barrages after a retreat Sunday, but have not mounted a counteroffensive. The Kurdish fighters said Tuesday they found a 22-year-old Iraqi soldier in Dibagah, about 55 miles southeast of Mosul. The soldier, emaciated and wearing a mud-splattered uniform, said he was separated from his unit during the last few days of fighting. U.S. forces talked to him, but later turned him over to the Kurds. The soldier, said the Iraqi soldiers had a fairly clear idea of how the U.S.-led war was progressing in the south and that coalition forces were in Baghdad and Basra. Asked why they continued to fight, the soldier, whose name was not revealed, said they had no choice: There were still standing orders to shoot deserters. Of course. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Parabellum: And, when the 4th is finished in the North, they'll be warmed up and in perfect position to follow that busted pipeline right into Baby Assad's backyard. and Syria is a 2-fer: you get Lebanon as a bonus... |
| Posted by: PD 2003-04-08 23:39:21 |
| #1 Hang in there guys, the 4th I.D. will be on it's way soon! |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2003-04-08 18:36:05 |