BBC in Nasiriyah: substantial numbers of U.S. forces pushing directly through the town, despite lack of security. They have control of the bridge crossings, however.
British troops have entered Basrah in great numbers, despite continuing fears about urban conflict. Change of plans announced: get the humanitarian aid in, first priority. Civilian aid workers cannot go in until the city is secure.
Huge sandstorm makes helicopter cover problematic, and will continue for at least a day.
More on ITN reporters: the survivor relates that they were filming some Iraqis who they thought were surrendering. As they were driving away from doing this, Allied forces opened up on them and the Iraqis with heavily caliber, virtually vaporizing their news van and the Iraqi positions. It’s not clear whether this was a mistake and friendly fire accident all in one or if the this was due to one of the “surrender ruses.”
The Euphrates. I just can’t get over it. My sixth grade history teacher was always on about the Tigris and the Euphrates and what she called the Persian “Golf”. Only she was talking about stuff that happened B.C., and it all sounded so remote.
They crossed the Euphrates. Hot damn. (Can I say that in MPSIMS?)
Sky News reports that an uprising is underway in the city of Basra. Local Shiites are rebelling against the Fedayeen operatives that were planted there by Saddam to use the populace as shields for fighting coalition troops. The uprising is being supported by British artillery.
Richard Gaisford, an embedded reporter with Sky News, is reporting live from Basra that Fedayeen operatives have been firing on their own people, Iraqi Shiites, with mortar rounds as the locals make an attempt to overwhelm Saddam’s secret police. British forces are preparing to enter the city, and are providing artillery support, firing on the mortar positions. This has been confirmed by British officials at Centcom.
The top Baath official in Basra has been killed. Baath is the socialist political party that is the official party of Saddam Hussein. The city is apparenty in a “riot situation”. Centcom reports that it is following up “as fast as we can” on the situation there.
CNN
Experts suspect that some 8,000 irregulars are in the Basra area. AP and Reuters confirm that top Baath official is dead.
The Turkish Foreign Minister has told the EU that Turkey plans to establish a buffer zone 20 km from their border with Iraq in case a “crisis situation” develops. The number of troops being bandied about is 40,000. The stated purpose of this buffer zone is to contain the flow of refugees into Iraq. NATO claims there is “no significant refugee flow toward the border at present.” The Turks also say they have no intention of mounting a military operation in Iraq at this time, but they are reserving the right to move beyond the buffer zone if the Iraqi Kurds try to establish an independant state. Talks continue.
The New York Times is reporting that the man who claimed to be the commander of the Iraqi 51st Division was in fact a junior officer lying about his rank in order to get better treatment from his captors.
Centcom confirms Marines have secured a “hospital” near Nasiriyah that was being used by Fedayeen to store an arsenal of weapons, a tank, and hundreds of bio-chem suits. More than 100 of the paramilitary forces were captured as prisoners of war. A Centcom spokesman says that the building had a red crescent painted on top of it. The red crescent is the equivalent of a red cross, used to indicate a medical building.
Guinea’s Mamdy Traore, current president of the UN Security Council, has announced an emergency meeting will be held on Wednesday to discuss the war in Iraq.
British warplanes are attacking a large column of Iraqi troops heading out of Basra as 5,000 Republican Guards are reported to be heading for a possible showdown with US Marines.
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Casualties rise:
[quoteMarch 26 — As coalition forces made their way through Iraq, the number of casualties was growing, combat-related and otherwise, on both sides. Military officials said Tuesday that between 300 and 700 Iraqi combat deaths occurred in fighting near Najaf. The U.S. military also reported Tuesday that a Marine from Illinois drowned while trying to cross a canal in Iraq. Another U.S. serviceman died from wounds suffered in a grenade attack in Kuwait that has been blamed on a U.S. Army sergeant, the military said.[/quote]
There was a picture tonight of US soldiers in front of a mural in an Iraqi government building. The mural was of the World Trade Center being smashed by an airliner.
W. Randolph Hearst couldn’t have cooked up a better photo for the front pages tomorrow.
