Posted on 04/10/2003 8:18:55 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
B A G H D A D, Iraq, April 10 — The oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk has fallen to U.S. and Kurdish forces, delivering a key victory just one day after Saddam Hussein's regime lost control of Baghdad.
Reporting from Kirkuk, where he is traveling with U.S. special operations forces, ABCNEWS' Jim Sciutto said a last Iraqi defense on a ridgeline near Kirkuk collapsed "very quickly" after days of intense fighting.
The strategic northern city — which is the center of Iraq's oil industry — is now free, said Sciutto. "U.S. forces were greeted by thousands of very happy Kurds celebrating in the streets, hugging, kissing some of these special forces troops," he said.
But Kirkuk was not entirely secure and gunshots could be heard across the city amid reports that some Iraqi troops were holed up in the southern part of the city, said Sciutto.
In the southern Shiite holy city of Najaf, two Shiite clerics were killed, according to wire reports.
One of the clerics was Abdul Majid al Khoei, a prominent leader who is believed to have played a major role in the fall of Najaf and efforts to stabilize the city.
The seizure of Kirkuk and the surrounding region has been an important goal of the war due to fears Saddam loyalists could try to set the oil facilities alight as they did in Kuwait during the Gulf War.
There were two oil fires burning on the outskirts of the city, said Sciutto, apparently set off by fleeing Iraqi troops. But only one of them appeared to be a major fire.
A day after U.S. Marines in eastern Baghdad helped Iraqis raze a giant statue of Saddam in a symbolic display of his crumbling power, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair broadcast a joint statement to the Iraqi people.
"The regime of Saddam Hussein is being removed from power," said the two-and-a-half minute taped address. "Your nation will soon be free."
The joint address was taped in Northern Ireland earlier this week and was broadcast from a specially-equipped U.S. C-130 Hercules aircraft flying over the country.
All Eyes on the North
While the seizure of Kirkuk was a significant coalition victory, it also threatened to upset a delicate diplomatic situation in the region.
Hours after its fall to coalition and Kurdish troops, a senior Turkish official said it would be "unacceptable" if Kurdish peshmergas set up a permanent presence in the city.
With Washington's approval, Turkey later announced that it would be sending military observers into Kirkuk, according to the Associated Press.
Kirkuk has been the symbolic capital for the Kurds, but Turkey opposes Kurdish control of the city, fearing it would strengthen Kurdish autonomy in the region.
For U.S. forces, Kirkuk's seizure is significant as the northern city is expected to be used as a base in a coalition march toward Tikrit, Saddam's birthplace and historic powerbase.
At a Central Command briefing in Qatar today, Maj. Gen. Gene Renuart told reporters that coalition troops did not, as yet, have a "substantial" presence in the area. But, he added, "certainly Tikrit is one of the key potential strongholds of the Baath Party and the Tikriti clan, and that is an area that is important to us."
U.S. military officials believe elements of Saddam's Republican Guards were gathering around the northern Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit.
‘Baghdad Is Still an Ugly Place’
A day after the world watched powerful images of Iraqis destroying symbols of Saddam's power in Baghdad, coalition troops were still encountering scattered resistance in various parts of the capital city.
"Baghdad is still an ugly place," said Renuart. "There are still places not secured."
• Click here for an interactive map of Baghdad.
According to U.S. military sources, U.S. troops have essentially cut Baghdad into quarters, leaving about four pockets not yet subdued or subject to U.S. influence.
In the city, threats from what U.S. officials call "death squads," or bands of Saddam loyalists, remain of concern to coalition forces. But there was no organized military force present in Baghdad, said ABCNEWS' John McWethy.
A fierce firefight broke out around a presidential palace complex on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad shortly after dawn, when Marines and Special Forces encountered heavy resistance from Iraqi troops.
According to Renuart, U.S. forces were fired on from a nearby mosque compound. One Marine was killed and about 20 others wounded in the attack.
In the al Mansour area of Baghdad, special operations forces searched a site in the upscale neighborhood where U.S. bombs pounded a building where Saddam was believed to have held a meeting earlier this week.
They were scouring for evidence to prove that four 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs dropped on the site had hit the Iraqi leader, according to the Associated Press.
No Sign of Saddam
But there were no signs of the Iraqi leader or any of his ministers or family members
Rumors about his whereabouts abounded, with some reports claiming Saddam had sought sanctuary in a Baghdad mosque near a presidential palace compound, which came under attack this morning.
Other reports say the beleaguered Iraqi leader had fled to Tikrit. But there was no confirmation of the reports.
The only Iraqi government comment available was a brief statement by Iraq's U.N. ambassador, Mohammed al Douri, who told reporters in New York on Wednesday: "The game is over, and I hope peace will prevail."
As Saddam's control of Iraq rapidly shifts, there have been growing concerns of looting and anarchy across the country following scenes of Iraqis pillaging government buildings in recent days.
U.S. military officials also fear that the collapse of Saddam's 30-year reign would lead to a period of score-settling and bloodletting. But they also admit it's difficult to engage in simultaneous combat and policing operations.
There were increasing coalition attempts to work with Iraqi community leaders, especially in the Shiite-dominated southern city of Basra and in Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad.
In Saddam City, a densely populated Shiite Muslim district in Baghdad, some residents set up roadblocks, confiscated loot being brought back from the city in wheelbarrows and pushcarts, and sent the booty to a nearby mosque.
And the oill executives of Lukoil and Total/Elf/Aquitane collectively wept!!!!! :(
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