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Resistance Continues In Baghdad, 1 U.S. Marine Killed
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U.S. Marines faced ferocious resistance along the northern banks of Tigris
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BAGHDAD,
April 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. marines came
under heavy fire Thursday, April 10, from Iraqi fighters along the
northern banks of the Tigris river, with one marine reported killed and
13 wounded, a U.S. officer said.
"There
were at least 13 casualties and one soldier killed in action,"
First Sergeant Jeff Treiber said one day after U.S. forces seized
control of most of Baghdad amid surprisingly little resistance.
The
marines 1st Division, 5th Regiment have captured one of Saddam's main
palace complexes on the northern side of the Tigris, said Treiber, of
the regiment's 1st battalion.
U.S.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Battles still raged in and
around Baghdad and other cities were hotly contested.
"The
regime has been dealt a serious blow. But the coalition forces will not
stop until they have finished the job."
Vice
President Dick Cheney touted the scenes of celebration throughout
Baghdad as "evidence of the collapse of any central regime
authority" and vindication for the U.S. war plan, but warned
"hard fighting" may yet lie ahead.
The
marines were under fire since 2.00 am (2200 GMT on Wednesday) from
fighters hiding in buildings, in cars, on rooftops and beneath bridges,
an Agence France- Presse (AFP) correspondent on the ground said.
Heavy
fighting was still raging with Iraqi fighters using AK-47s and
rocket-propelled grenades, the correspondent said.
"It's
a show of force, we can go where we want," said Treiber, adding
that artillery fire could be heard outside the walls of Saddam Hussein's
Azmiyah palace.
Major
Pete Farnum also said a nearby mosque had been “secured”.
"There
were intelligence reports the mosque was a Saddam stronghold,"
Farnum said, describing the mosque as being close to the northern banks
of the Tigris.
"We
displayed our ability to impose our will," he said, in reference to
the marines capturing the mosque and palace.
A
BBC correspondent said U.S. troops had searched the mosque, where
Saddam Hussein was rumored to be hiding.
‘Explosions’
A
series of loud blasts woke Baghdadis on Thursday in a sharp reminder of
the dangers still lurking in Iraq after the euphoria of the fall of the
capital to U.S. forces.
The
booms from the outskirts were heard clearly from 7:30 am (0330 GMT)
while planes could be heard flying overhead.
The
city centre was calm in the morning as it had been throughout the night
for the first time since the war began on March 20.
But
the uncertainty of the situation was reflected by the explosions which
could not be immediately located and it was unclear if they were the
result of air strikes.
The
world watched live the chaotic scenes dozens of Iraqis waged a symbolic
struggle to topple a huge statue of Saddam in a central square.
In
the end U.S. Marines brought up a tank recovery vehicle to bring down
the bronze of Saddam over Al-Fardus (Paradise) Square.
But
as military and political leaders warned that war is still raging in
Iraq, there was concern about the humanitarian situation after the
International Committee of the Red Cross suspended aid deliveries in
Baghdad, following the death of a Canadian staff member in crossfire
Tuesday, April 8.
However,
Rumsfeld dismissed talk of a humanitarian crisis and said aircraft
delivering aid supplies had already landed at Baghdad airport.
Meanwhile,
a sniper shot dead a U.S. marine in southeastern Baghdad on Wednesday,
U.S. Central Command said.
A
series of massive explosions had lit up the sky during the evening on
Baghdad's southwestern rim.
In
central Baghdad, a Belgian doctor, Geert Van Moorter, said two Iraqis
were killed and three others wounded when U.S. forces opened fire on an
ambulance carrying away people injured in exchanges of fire.
Saddam's
hometown of Tikirt in the north was still under bombardment and cited
widely as a likely last refuge for the ousted rulers.
And
the major northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul are still in the hands of
the regime. But U.S. and Kurdish forces reportedly pushed further
towards the two cities.
"We
are still in the midst of a shooting war and men and women are still in
harm's way ... There remain a lot of dangers ahead," said White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
"This
conflict is not, however, over yet," added British Prime Minister
Tony Blair.
"We
control the vast majority of the city but there's still fighting going
on," cautioned Lieutenant General Buford Blount, commander of the
Third Infantry Division, said at the airport where U.S. forces are
based.
MOABs
Moved
Meanwhile,
the U.S. Air Force is moving several 21,000-pound MOAB bombs, the
largest U.S. conventional bomb, to the Gulf region, a U.S. defense
official said.
It
was not clear what the air force intends to do with the bombs, which are
most effective against troops or tanks in open areas.
"What
we were told today is that they are on the way," said the defense
official, who asked not to be identified.
The
Pentagon said 101 U.S. military personnel have been killed and 399
wounded since the war on Iraq began March 20.
The
big jump in wounded from 155 on Tuesday was due to improved procedures
for reporting those casualties, said Air Force Lieutenant Colonel
Cynthia Colin, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.
She
said 86 military personnel have been killed in combat and 15 in
accidents.
The
number of missing U.S. forces rose to 11 with the addition to the list
of a Marine who disappeared near An Nasiriyah on March 23. Seven U.S.
military personnel are being held as prisoners of war.
Game
Is Over
With
the fall of Baghdad, Iraq 's U.N. ambassador declared "the game is
over" — and became the first Iraqi official to concede defeat in
the U.S.-led war.
"My
work now is peace, …the game is over, and I hope the peace will
prevail. I hope the Iraqi people will have a happy life," Mohamed
Al-Douri told reporters outside his New York residence.
Al-Douri
was asked what he meant when he said "the game is over."
"The
war," he responded.
His
comments were the first admission by an Iraqi official that invadors
forces had overwhelmed Iraqi troops after a three-week campaign.
Two
weeks ago, during a heated U.N. debate, Al-Douri accused the United
States of criminal aggression against Iraq and warned the U.S.-led
troops was "about to start a real war of extermination that will
kill everything and destroy everything."
The
outburst caused U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte to walk out of the open
Security Council meeting, saying he'd "heard enough."
Questioned
about Al-Douri's comments, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said:
"Well, I would say it wasn't a game, first."
Rumsfeld
added that there was still lots of "difficult, dangerous" work
ahead in Iraq.
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