Iraq Denies Destruction Of Republican Guard Division
BAGHDAD,
April 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An Iraqi military spokesman
on Wednesday, April 2, repudiated claims about the destruction of the Baghdad
division of the elite Republican Guard, as propagated by the U.S. Central
Command.
«These allegations have no foundation and are part of the hostile campaign against Iraq», the spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
«To
the contrary, the Baghdad Republican Guard division maintains its cohesion
and has a morale of steel. It has not suffered any losses and is ready to
confront the enemy and destroy it», he averred.
Commenting
on the report, Gen. Mohammed Ali Belal, commanding officer of the Egyptian
troops during the 1991 Desert Storm, told Al-Jazeera satellite channel that
there is no Republican Guard units around or outside Baghdad.
«The (U.S.) claims are mere lies…There are only Iraqi reconnaissance patrols outside Baghdad», he said.
«These
advancing units are not from the Republican Guard…The U.S. only wants to
lower the morale of the Republican Guard and the Iraqi fighters», averred
the war expert.
Earlier in the day, a senior U.S.
commander alleged American invading troops destroyed the fortification of
the Republican Guard, asserting that they were pointing a «dagger» at the
heart of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime.
«The Baghdad Division has been destroyed. The First Marine Expeditionary Force attacked the Baghdad Division near the town of Al-Kut and has crossed the Tigris River», Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told a press briefing.
Brooks, however, did not pinpoint the location of U.S.
forces that early Wednesday unleashed a major assault on the Iraqi elite
divisions and advanced to, as they claimed, within 50 miles of Baghdad's southern outskirts.
«We
will approach Baghdad. The dagger is clearly pointed at the heart of the
regime and will remain pointed at it until the regime is gone.
«The
dagger remains firmly in our grasp and under good control. When it's time
to be applied further, it will be applied further», he added.
Brooks claimed other Republican Guard divisions under U.S. attack near Baghdad were in «serious trouble» and trying to regroup and reinforce with the intention of dragging U.S. and British troops into a bloody street-fight inside Baghdad.
«We have not seen a considerable amount of effort to withdraw into Baghdad and certainly that would be a very hazardous undertaking given the effect we are having at the current time," Brooks claimed.
«I
don't want to appear over-confident. There's a lot of fighting that still
has to occur out there... We have the situation under control».
On Tuesday, April 1, a famed British media expert said that the war briefings coming daily from Downing Street and the U.S. Central Command in Qatar are not to-the-point, adding that American and British officials were beating about the bush.
Iraq Threw Only Third Of Forces Into Battle: Saddam
BAGHDAD,
April 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
said a third of Iraq's armed forces have engaged in battle with the U.S.-led
invasion forces so far.
Iraq will be victorious against the U.S.
and British invaders, Saddam vowed in a message read out in his name on Iraqi
satellite TV on Wednesday, April 2, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
In his new message to the Iraqi people, his second in days, Saddam ordered his people to «fight» the enemy.
He pledged that «victory, thank God, is (near). We have only deployed a third of our army, or even less than a third».
«Fight them ... God will make you victorious. They are criminals, aggressors», Saddam said.
«The
opportunity is there today to defend religion, honor and principles in the
face of the invaders», he said in his message, dated April 1 and read out
by a presenter in military uniform.
The speech was greeted by a series of explosions shaking Baghdad during the morning as the southern, western and northwestern outskirts came under new waves of bombing.
On
Tuesday, April 1, Saddam called for Jihad and again promised victory, in
a speech delivered on Iraqi television by Information Minister Mohammed Said
al-Sahhaf.
The
latest call, the presenter said, was issued to salute the Iraqi armed resistance,
especially near Nasiriyah, which lies on the road to Baghdad in southern Iraq.
«Our family in Iraq and our courageous armed forces have been confronting the aggressions for the past 12 years», Saddam said.
«You
are fighting them and have held your ground all this time, inflicting, especially
the 11th army, losses on the outskirts of Nasiriyah», he added.
«Fight them and may each of you, and the inhabitants of Nasiriyah and Zhi Qar (in southwest Iraq), recall his faith and his duties. When this happens, the enemy will be defeated in the other towns of Iraq», asserted Saddam.
Saddam Chairs Meeting
In
another related development, the Iraqi state television said Saddam chaired
a meeting with top advisors, without airing images from the gathering.
According
to the report, Saddam met with his two sons, Qusay, head of the elite Republican
Guard, and Uday, who runs the Fedayeen corps.
Also
attending the meeting, whose date was not announced, were Defense Minister
Sultan Hashem Ahmed, Abdul Tawab Mulla Howeish, minister of military industrialization,
and Hamed Raja Shallah, head of air defense.
White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Tuesday, April 1, that Saddam's no-show
on television «does raise interesting questions» but added that the U.S. administration did not know whether he was alive or dead.
A
spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said there were now fresh
doubts about the authenticity of Saddam's multiple television appearances
since war broke out on March 20.
«We
can't reach any definitive conclusions, but Saddam's non-appearance does
raise questions about the legitimacy of his other broadcasts.
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