Posted on 04/04/2003 3:11:30 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Marines Say About 2,500 Guards Surrender
.c The Associated Press
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) - U.S. Marines have reported that about 2,500 Iraqi Republican Guards surrendered between Kut and Baghdad, U.S. Central Command said Friday.
The surrender apparently occurred after clashes of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and the Republican Guard's Baghdad Division, said Navy Capt. Frank Thorp, spokesman at U.S. Central Command.
He stressed that Central Command had only received the report from the Marines on the ground and couldn't confirm it outright.
``We have reports of approximately 2,500 soldiers of the Iraqi Republican Guard laying down their arms in their confrontation with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force,'' he said, citing reports from the Marines.
He said those who showed a propensity to fight would become prisoners of war, while others who have shown they do not want to fight will be allowed to return home.
U.S. Central Command has said it has more than 4,500 POWs in custody.
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