wrbones
03-23-03, 06:32 PM
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=A33E1186-A9C7-46EB-A2ED4F0351B1D5D4&title=Bush%3A%20Most%20of%20Southern%20Iraq%20In%2 0Coalition%20Hands
Bush: Most of Southern Iraq In Coalition Hands
VOA News
23 Mar 2003, 22:48 UTC
President Bush says most of southern Iraq is now in coalition hands as coalition aircraft again pounded Baghdad, sending fresh shrouds of smoke over the capital.
Mr. Bush said Sunday U.S. and British forces are "slowly but surely" achieving their objectives in Iraq and that Saddam Hussein is losing control of his country. Coalition forces have pushed within 160 kilometers of Baghdad.
But he acknowledged that areas of Iraqi resistance remain. Coalition forces faced their "sharpest engagement" of the war so far around Nassiriya, where a number of U.S. troops were killed and captured.
Heavy fighting is also reported at Basra, Najaf and the port city of Umm Qasr, where British forces said they had seized control on Friday.
In Baghdad, reporters said Sunday's night-time airstrikes hit targets in Saddam Hussein's presidential palace compound, setting off enormous explosions. Explosions were also reported today around the northern city of Mosul, and in Tikrit, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's home town. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti officials say a Patriot missile has intercepted an Iraqi missile over northern Kuwait. A Kurdish official said scores of U.S. special forces landed near Sulaymaniyah late Saturday in northern Iraq and U.S. airstrikes continued in the region against the stronghold of the Islamic extremist group, Ansar al-Islam.
Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan told reporters in Baghdad that coalition forces are being allowed to move north from Kuwait uncontested, but he said U.S. led forces will face certain defeat once they approach Baghdad.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.
Bush: Most of Southern Iraq In Coalition Hands
VOA News
23 Mar 2003, 22:48 UTC
President Bush says most of southern Iraq is now in coalition hands as coalition aircraft again pounded Baghdad, sending fresh shrouds of smoke over the capital.
Mr. Bush said Sunday U.S. and British forces are "slowly but surely" achieving their objectives in Iraq and that Saddam Hussein is losing control of his country. Coalition forces have pushed within 160 kilometers of Baghdad.
But he acknowledged that areas of Iraqi resistance remain. Coalition forces faced their "sharpest engagement" of the war so far around Nassiriya, where a number of U.S. troops were killed and captured.
Heavy fighting is also reported at Basra, Najaf and the port city of Umm Qasr, where British forces said they had seized control on Friday.
In Baghdad, reporters said Sunday's night-time airstrikes hit targets in Saddam Hussein's presidential palace compound, setting off enormous explosions. Explosions were also reported today around the northern city of Mosul, and in Tikrit, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's home town. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti officials say a Patriot missile has intercepted an Iraqi missile over northern Kuwait. A Kurdish official said scores of U.S. special forces landed near Sulaymaniyah late Saturday in northern Iraq and U.S. airstrikes continued in the region against the stronghold of the Islamic extremist group, Ansar al-Islam.
Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan told reporters in Baghdad that coalition forces are being allowed to move north from Kuwait uncontested, but he said U.S. led forces will face certain defeat once they approach Baghdad.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.