U.S. Army Battles Its Way Into Hindiyah

HINDIYAH, Iraq (AP) - Fighting street by street, U.S. Army troops punched their way into this town Monday in the closest known battle in the U.S.-led advance on Baghdad. The Americans captured several dozen Iraqis who identified themselves as members of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard.

Further south, the Army encircled the Shiite holy city of Najaf and said it killed about 100 paramilitary fighters and captured about 50 Iraqis.

At least 15 Iraqi troops were killed in the fighting in Hindiyah, 50 miles south of Baghdad between the sacred city of Karbala and the ruins of ancient Babylon. The prisoners told the Americans they belonged to the guard's Nebuchadnezzar Brigade, based in Saddam's home area of Tikrit, and they had the guard's triangular insignia.

The 4th Battalion of the 64th armored regiment rolled in to the town of 80,000 at dawn - met quickly by small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from Iraqis hiding behind hedges and brick walls.

On the southeast side of a 200-yard concrete and steel bridge across the dark-green Euphrates, the soldiers took up positions in abandoned bunkers and sandbags and traded fire with Iraqis on the other side. A dark blue car attempted to race across the bridge toward U.S. forces but it was hit with heavy machine gun fire, which stopped it in the middle.

Iraqi forces dressed in civilian clothes with blue or red kaffiyahs wrapped around their heads and faces scrambled between buildings, trying to sneak up on U.S. troops on the city side of the bridge. Americans in tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles fired back with heavy machine guns and 25mm cannon.

The ground shook as mortars landed, and the smell of gunpowder filled the air. As the Americans began the cross the bridge, Iraqi troops tried to block it with civilian cars.

Leading to the bridge was a broad boulevard with wide sidewalks dotted with sidewalk cafes. Portraits of Saddam had been erected along the street every 100 yards. Senior officers, chewing on cigars, conferred as the tanks and fighting vehicles ringing them fired toward the distance.

The assault on the key river crossing is the closest known point in the U.S.-led advance on Baghdad, where a battle looms with the Republican Guard, Iraq's best-trained troops. But it was at Najaf - a city of 300,000, 100 miles south of Baghdad - that U.S. military leaders were faced with a difficult decision.

It was unclear whether the U.S. strategy is to take Najaf or simply to cordon off the city. There are too many Iraqi fighters to bypass them or leave them unattended; they're a danger to supply lines on the way to Baghdad.

The U.S. Central Command said 100 ``terror squad members'' were killed Sunday at Najaf and another town in fighting with the 82nd Airborne Division. It did not further identify the ``terror squads'' or give other details about the newly captured Iraqis.

The 101st Airborne Division surrounded Najaf, preparing for a possible door-to-door battle to root out Saddam's fighters - but leery of damaging some of the faith's most sacred shrines.

In Najaf, the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Ali is buried at an extraordinary shrine, its gold dome and twin minarets gleaming for miles. It is surrounded by low buildings and narrow streets, a nightmare of an urban battleground.

Other Muslim holy figures are buried there and at the vast Wadi es-Salaam cemetery - one of the world's largest - that forms a semicircle around the city. Officers speaking on condition of anonymity said some of the Iraqi fighters were hiding there.

A battle that destroyed these holy places could inflame passions of Shiites in Iraq and elsewhere, most notably Iran.

The United States has been hoping that Shiite Muslims, who represent 60 percent of Iraq's population, will rise up against Saddam and his largely Sunni leadership.

Ibrahim Khalili, a prominent Iranian Shiite clergyman, said: ``I don't think that anyone dares to attack a holy site in Iraq. An attack on holy shrines will only provoke the uncontrolled anger of Muslims, especially Shiites, with serious consequences to the attackers.''

Capt. Micah Pharris, an attorney in the 101st Airborne's judge advocate general's office, said some locations in Najaf are on the military's ``no target'' list - to be fired at only in self defense.

So the Army still held out hope that the battle could be avoided. Using loudspeakers mounted on Humvees, U.S. soldiers on Najaf's perimeter will soon beseech its townspeople to turn over Saddam's zealots.

Republican Guard positions between Karbala and Baghdad continued to be targeted for allied bombardment - Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than half of Sunday's sorties were directed at the guard, Saddam's best equipped and trained forces.

North of Baghdad, meanwhile, U.S.-backed Kurdish troops took control of territory left by Iraqi forces withdrawing toward the oil center of Kirkuk. They advanced almost 10 miles - slowly, as the cleared more than 300 mines, some the size of ashtrays, others as big as layer cakes.

That territory came without a shot - unlike the continuing battles with Saddam's fighters in the south.

In what was described as the Royal Marines' largest operation of the war so far, the British Press Association reported fierce fighting for the town of Abu al Khasib, southwest of Basra. It said 30 Iraqis had been killed and hundreds captured in what the British are calling Operation James, named after James Bond. A British soldier was killed in action near Basra.

A reporter for Sunday Telegraph of London reported that Kalashnikov rifles confiscated from defeated Iraqi soldiers were being collected by British troops to pass to pro-Western rebels in Basra.

Near the southern port city of Umm Qasr, British forces discovered a cache of arms and explosives in a school, an Australian defense spokesman said Monday. Australian mine clearance experts were called in to dismantle the weaponry, military spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan said.

Marines from 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment returned Sunday from a two-day mission. Actively seeking engagements, they went to three cities and towns in southern-central Iraq including Afak, about 50 miles east of Najaf. Some of the fighting, they said, was building to building.

Nebucadenezzar was deployed north of Baghdad, according to Anthony Cordesman of the CSIS. If they are now south of Baghdad, this may suggest that Medina is breaking up and replacements are coming from other IRG divisions. The use of cars as roadblocks indicates a poor or hasty defense. In the account, the US actually appeared to have tactical surprise. All in all, very encouraging.

"On the southeast side of a 200-yard concrete and steel bridge across the dark-green Euphrates, the soldiers took up positions in abandoned bunkers and sandbags and traded fire with Iraqis on the other side. A dark blue car attempted to race across the bridge toward U.S. forces but it was hit with heavy machine gun fire, which stopped it in the middle."

Never bring a car to a tank fight

Semper Fi

Never bring a car to a tank fight

Well, it makes sense to me. Maybe some of those guys need to study rocket science. Anyway, I hope we don't get into this body count thing like we did in Vietnam.

Had a look at the map, and the action is very significant. The account suggests that the US took the bridge, although it doesn't explicitly say so. The attack appears to have taken the Iraqis by surprise. At any rate, the road southeast from Hindiyah runs near enough the Euphrates to bridge it at several points. I suspect the US is over the water.

But another tributary of the Euphrates lies between Hindiyah and Baghdad. We are getting into built-up area now. What crossing Hindiyah does is open a northern route to Al Hillah. Recall that 3/7 Cavalry is alread to the south of Al Hillah. STRATFOR called the 3/7 "bait", but it should be clear that it is directed against Al Hillah. Al Hillah controls the last bridge to Baghdad. Fortunately for the defenders, Al Hillah has a marsh extending east. But with 3/7 Cavalry to the south, the marsh may not be enough to prevent the US from working its way to Al Hillah's rear.

I know that the press have reported a standdown, but this is no skirmish. This is a mortal threat to Baghdad's southern defenses. The Iraqis have to respond.

Good point. Stand down my butt. I think our UAVs must suggest that their lines are now swiss cheese...and this is Patton's old "reconnaisance in force"...we will cautiously proceed until we hit serious arty, or chems. meanwhile, they must respond, run, or surrender. I would expect our UAVs are looking for any RG organized response.

At this time, we are still coiling the anaconda...

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.