Invasion troops fought a fierce battle with Iraqi resistance forces on Wednesday for control of a bridge over the Euphrates River close to the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, a U.S. military officer monitoring the clash said. He said an unspecified number of U.S. tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles had been destroyed by Iraqis armed with rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles during the clash at Abu Sukhayr, 20 kilometers southeast of Najaf.

He said he believed that the U.S. crews, under the command of the 3rd Infantry division, had escaped from their vehicles but their fate was still unclear.

The officer said air support had been called in to support the U.S. forces. Earlier, US sources said troops backed by tanks tore apart a band of outgunned Iraqis and killed 650.

The Pentagon Wednesday released the name of an Army soldier killed in action March 24 in Iraq, and two Marines missing near Nasiriyah, south of Baghdad. As of Wednesday, there were 21 people confirmed killed in action. At least 14 are missing in action and there are two confirmed American prisoners of war.

Meanwhile, the United States is flying its high-tech 4th Infantry Division and other units totaling more than 30,000 troops to the Gulf to join the invasion of Iraq, the military said on Wednesday.

Troops from the division will begin flying to the Gulf region in coming days to join its heavy armor and equipment now approaching Kuwait on ships.

The division, with a total of 16,000 troops at has been awaiting deployment for more than two months. It was originally scheduled to go to Turkey to open a northern front against Baghdad.

The division's equipment, including more than 200 M-1A2 tanks, is currently being shipped from waters off Turkey to Kuwait and the troops are expected to go there.

He said that other military units totaling about 14,000 troops were also moving with the division.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraq

* _ About 1,000 U.S. Army troops parachuted into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq in a night jump Wednesday, putting the first large ground force into place for opening another front against Iraq. The soldiers from the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade dropped into an airfield and set up security for the site, which will be used to bring in supplies and support personnel, a senior Pentagon official said.

* _ Warplanes attacked a convoy of Iraqi armored vehicles leaving Basra under cover of sandstorms, raising hopes that British troops could soon enter a city feared on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

* _ U.S. Marines heading north toward Baghdad were warned about a huge Iraqi convoy moving south, putting allied forces on a collision course with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard.

* _ The U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division drew to within 50 miles of Baghdad, west of where the Republican Guard was advancing. Other American forces were expected to join soon in squeezing the capital from several directions.

* _ Army airborne forces parachuted into northern Iraq, seizing an airfield.

* _ Two cruise missiles struck a residential area in Baghdad, killing 14 people and injuring 30, Iraqi defense officials said - the worst single reported instance of civilian deaths so far.

* _ President Bush said the war in Iraq is far from over and warned that coalition forces will face "the most desperate elements of a doomed regime" as they close in on Baghdad.

* _ U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said Baath Party headquarters in Basra and Al Samawah were destroyed by coalition forces overnight.

* _ U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed growing concern about the "humanitarian casualties" of the war against Iraq and reiterated that the United States is responsible for the welfare of the civilian population.

* _ Saudi Arabia backed away from an announcement that it had made a peace proposal to the United States and Iraq, saying only that it had offered "general ideas" about ending the war and not a formal initiative.

* _ British Prime Minister Tony Blair, before leaving for a Washington meeting with Bush, said the United States and its allies must broaden their agenda beyond Iraq and help build peace in the Middle East and across the globe.

* _ Turkey's military chief of staff pledged to coordinate with the United States before sending troops into northern Iraq and said there would be no deployment unless a refugee crisis erupted or Turkey's security was threatened.

* _ Two Nobel Peace Prize winners, two bishops and Vietnam War activist Daniel Ellsberg were among those arrested near the White House in anti-war protests. More than 100 demonstrators in Florida denounced Bush during his trip there.

PHOTO CAPTION

US soldiers carry the body of one of two comrades killed in Nasiriyah. A column of about 4,000 US soldiers crossed the Euphrates River in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. (AFP/Eric Feferberg) - Mar 25 5:34 AM ET