Baghdad Pounded; Northern Front Flares up; Iraqi TV Shows US Pilots in Captivity

25/03/2003| IslamWeb

Iraqi state television showed footage of two pilots of a downed US Apache helicopter, and Baghdad vowed to fight to the end as the northern front flared up Monday night with a major assault on Kirkuk. The second straight night of POW broadcasts came as intense bombing raids pounded areas south of Baghdad, hitting with such force that the blasts could be heard in the centre of the Iraqi capital.

Occasional heavy bombardment also hit Baghdad itself.

Iraqi state television showed between four and five minutes of videotape of two men whose Apache attack helicopter had been shot down by a farmer in southern Iraq. The men were not heard speaking and did not appear to be injured.

US commanders earlier acknowledged that two Apache pilots were missing in action after an air operation aimed at formations of elite Republican Guards, which the United States says are arrayed to defend the approaches to Baghdad.

The television showed credit and ID cards, including a driver's license from the US state of Texas. The men, wearing desert-coloured pilot overalls, appeared somber and slightly nervous.

Iraqi television said they were "prisoners of war" who would be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

The United States blasted Iraq's broadcast of five POWs on Sunday night, and Bush said anyone mistreating US captives would be treated as war criminals.

Sunday night's footage filled many residents in this city -- the jewel in the crown of Saddam's power -- with pride.

"Our army is scoring success after success against the world's sole superpower with its mighty military coalition," one taxi driver said. "I was never so proud to be Iraqi."

A senior US officer claimed Monday in Washington that Apache attacks had "degraded significantly" a division of the Guard defending the approach to Baghdad.

But in remarks to reporters in the capital, as heavy coalition air bombardment could be heard booming in the nighttime sky, Iraqi Deputy Premier, Tariq Aziz vowed that US and British troops were facing a tough assault on the city.

Another Day of Heavy Bombardment

Five people, including a woman, were killed and at least 28 wounded when a missile fired by allied warplanes hit houses in Al-Athamiyah, a densely populated area of Baghdad, residents there said.

One house was destroyed when the missile struck, residents told an AFP photographer on the scene. Casualties had been removed from the area, according to the photographer, who saw piles of rubble.

The Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera reported Basra as well as the main northern Iraqi city of Mosul came under bombardment on Monday.

Northern Front Flares up

Meanwhile, reports from Chamchamal in Northern Iraq said that US-led forces carried out 24 hours of almost non-stop bombardment of the country's northern oil capital of Kirkuk amid growing signals a northern front against Saddam Hussein was opening.

Observers believe the raids on Kirkuk effectively signalled the opening of a northern front against Baghdad, but the operation remains complicated by Ankara's refusal to allow US troops and armour to transit via Turkish soil to northern Iraq.

So far, according to the sources, the only US troops in this area are believed to be Special Forces flown into Kurdish-held airfields under cover of darkness.

Children at Risk of Disease in Basra

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned at least 100,000 children in Basra were at risk of disease after water supplies were cut following US-led air strikes.

The northern oil capital of Kirkuk has also been rocked by 24 hours of almost non-stop bombardment, Kurdish sources said.

40 Coalition Soldiers Killed in Military Conflict So Far

A US soldier was shot dead Monday in central Iraq.

About 40 US and British troops have been killed in the conflict but the civilian toll is also mounting.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraq

* _ Coalition troops in southern Iraq were facing deadly ambushes and discovering that many Iraqi fighters had discarded their uniforms for civilian clothes.

* _ Gen. Tommy Franks said Saddam's regime is weakened but still issuing orders to military units. Franks claimed his forces have captured 3,000 prisoners.

* _ President Bush is expected to ask Congress for dlrs 74.7 billion to pay for the war with Iraq, assuming a month of combat, and for strengthening counterterrorism efforts at home.

* _ A U.S. envoy rushed back to Turkey to discuss Turkish plans to send troops into northern Iraq despite Washington's objections. The European Union head office also warned Turkey not to enter northern Iraq.

* _ A British soldier was killed in combat in southern Iraq, the first such British death since the war began. Sixteen other British servicemen have died, and two others were reported missing.

* _ U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned of a humanitarian crisis in Basra, scene of fierce fighting. Annan said "urgent measures" were needed to restore the city's electricity and water supply.

* _ Anti-war demonstrators clashed with police outside the U.S. consulate in Hamburg and peace rallies emptied schools across Italy in a fresh swell of protests against the war in Iraq.

PHOTO CAPTION

Thousands of allied troops bolstered positions around the city for what one US Marine officer predicted would be a "major battle"(AFP/Cris Bouroncle)