US-led ground forces were today continuing their advance on Baghdad, as US television networks reported that Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards are preparing to unleash chemical weapons on US and British troops entering the city.
Pentagon officials believe the Iraqi leadership has drawn a ”red line” around the city, with Republican Guards authorised to use chemical weapons as soon as coalition forces enter Baghdad, according to CBS News.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that a second British soldier has been killed in action, following intense fighting in the battle for Basra in southern Iraq.
To the north, waves of US-UK aircraft continued a heavy aerial bombardment of President Saddam’s Republican Guard units surrounding Baghdad, as coalition forces geared up for what the prime minister, Tony Blair, yesterday described as a ”crucial moment” in the campaign.
A large convoy of US marines crossed the Euphrates river and Saddam Canal at Nassiriya, resuming a key advance toward Baghdad after fierce hand to hand combat with Republican Guard units.
A Reuters correspondent travelling with the Marines said the convoy had raced through the streets of Nassiriya along a protective corridor of US armour, crossing first the river, then the canal.
A northward advance on the far bank of the Euphrates could eventually form the eastern arm of a pincer movement on Baghdad, 376 kilometres north of Nassiriya. To the west of the river, US forces were only 96 kilometres south of the capital.
Republican Guard attacked
The rapid advance on the city follows a night of heavy bombing, during which coalition warplanes targeted an elite division of the Republican Guard in Baghdad to prepare the way for an all-out assault on President Saddam’s stronghold.
At least six large blasts shook the city shortly after midnight, sending huge fireballs into the sky. Three of the overnight bombings appeared to have hit the city centre, while others were heard to the south.
Second British soldier killed in action
A soldier in the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch was killed in action last night in an operation near Az Zubayr, near Basra, according to British military officials.
His death was confirmed as the Ministry of Defence named the first British soldier killed in combat in Iraq as Sergeant Steven Mark Roberts of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.
According to an unconfirmed report in the Daily Telegraph, Sgt Roberts, (33) and from Bradford, was shot on Sunday evening while trying to calm rioting Iraqi civilians at Az Zubayr.
Sixteen other British servicemen are known to have died since the conflict began. They were killed in two helicopter accidents and the downing of a British Tornado jet by ”friendly fire” from a US Patriot missile battery.
Another two British soldiers have been missing since their convoy was hit on Sunday in southern Iraq.
Blair and Bush to meet at Camp David
Blair will fly to the US this week to discuss the progress of the war with George Bush, US officials said last night.
The meeting was expected to take place at the Camp David presidential retreat on Thursday, the leaders’ first meeting since war began.
Yesterday Blair told the House of Commons that ground forces were closing in on Baghdad and he added: ”The vital goal is to reach Baghdad as swiftly as possible, thus bringing the end of the regime closer.”
More PoWs appear on Iraqi TV
Iraqi television has shown video of two pilots of a US army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, downed after running into ground fire during a combat mission south-west of Baghdad.
The two men, named as Chief Warrant Officer David Williams and Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young Jr, appeared to be in good health. The soldiers did not say anything and were not questioned in the footage, unlike the five US soldiers captured on Sunday — a move that drew fierce criticism from Washington.
Identity papers belonging to the two men were shown and the broadcast claimed that their helicopter had been shot down by a farmer — a claim denied by the US commander, General Tommy Franks.
The Apache was brought down during a raid with some 40 other US helicopters on elite Iraqi troops who were defending the southern route to Baghdad.
Franks: coalition making ‘rapid’ progress
Gen Franks last night insisted that coalition forces were making ”rapid, and in some cases dramatic” progress, despite encountering ”sporadic resistance” in Iraqi cities. Such progress came despite a sandstorm that was stalling the US army’s 3rd Infantry Division as it moved north towards Baghdad.
However a former commander from the 1991 Gulf war said the US military had seriously underestimated the number of troops needed to take Baghdad and risked as many as 3 000 casualties.
Retired US Army General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the 24th Infantry Division 12 years ago, told BBC2’s Newsnight the US-UK forces could take Baghdad. But he added: ”If [the Iraqis] actually fight, and that’s one of the assumptions, clearly it’s going to be brutal, dangerous work and we could take — bluntly — a couple to 3 000 casualties.”
Gen McCaffrey said the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had misjudged the nature of the conflict by not sending in more troops to take the Iraqi capital.
Basra now a ‘military target’
British commanders ordered artillery fire on strongholds of resistance in Iraq’s second city
British military officials had said several days ago that they would prefer to negotiate surrenders with enemy troops rather than move into Basra.
But the unexpectedly stiff resistance encountered there has led them to declare the town a military target.
Officers are now considering calling in paratroopers and Royal Marine Commandos to use their expertise in urban warfare to secure the area in the face of fierce guerrilla-style tactics.
In Az Zubayr, close to Basra, where two British soldiers have been killed in action, British forces are trying to break the grip of ruling Baath party militia and other forces loyal to Saddam Hussein.
UK support for war surges
A clear majority of the British public now back the war against Iraq, according to the latest Guardian/ICM poll.
The percentage who back military action is now 54%, compared with 38% a week ago, the tracker poll found. At the same time, opposition to the war fell from 44% last week to 30% this week.
The new figures still show the highest level of disapproval at military action since Gallup recorded 31% against British troops fighting in Korea in 1950. Fewer than 25% were against military action in the Falklands or the 1991 Gulf war or British involvement in Kosovo in 1999.
Support for war surges
Humanitarian effort to begin
British troops are today hoping to begin the delivery of humanitarian aid to Iraq.
Specialist UK troops have been waiting since Saturday to begin preparing the port of Umm Qasr for huge aid shipments, but have been delayed by fighting on the outskirts of the Kuwaiti border town.
A British army spokeswoman said the humanitarian efforts could begin today.
Meanwhile, the US government has asked Congress to boost its war and anti-terror budget by almost $75m (£50m) – but only a fraction of that will go towards rebuilding Iraq and providing aid for its people.
The request calls for about $63bn for military operations – enough to sustain the full US force in Iraq for five months – and $4bn for increased homeland security.
About $8bn is set aside for international aid, with just $2.5bn for humanitarian relief and post-war reconstruction in Iraq – the rest is for countries who have helped the US in the war or in fighting terrorism, including Jordan, Israel and Pakistan. – Guardian Unlimited Â