U.S. forces secure Kerbala, move north

Reuters | Tuesday, April 1, 2003 | By Luke Baker

[JohnHuang2]

U.S. forces secure Kerbala, move north

By Luke Baker

NEAR KERBALA, Iraq, April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. forces have encircled the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Kerbala, securing all major exit routes in the face of only light Iraqi opposition, and are now advancing further north.

Commanders of the U.S. 3rd Infantry had expected a day-long battle to seize the perimeter of the city, just 110 km (70 miles) southwest of Baghdad. But in the end the operation was completed within three hours.

Rather than tackle Iraqi fighters who might be positioned further inside Kerbala U.S. forces were instead continuing their drive on the Iraqi capital, military sources said.

Military officials had previously said that Kerbala, which was believed to have been defended by vaunted Republican Guard units, was the last major hurdle on the road to Baghdad.

U.S. infantry launched their assault on the city at around 2 a.m. (2300 GMT), supported by warplanes, Apache attack helicopters and a furious artillery barrage which lit up the night sky with a succession of dazzling flashes.

"This is the big battle," a U.S. military official at Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar told Reuters.

Troops encountered very little fire as they moved on the city and took about 30 Iraqi prisoners of war. Information on any casualties in the assault was not immediately available.

Prior to the attack, U.S. officers had said a full Iraqi brigade of around 6,000 men, including tanks and artillery, were believed to have taken up position around Kerbala.

Many of those men might have retreated inside the city but the U.S. military said they did not want to engage in street-to-street fighting at this stage.

Instead, the plan was to secure a bridgehead to the east over the nearby Euphrates river which will be need to move infantry and armour up towards Baghdad. Different U.S. units are also pushing northwards on the eastern side of the river.

A sizeable chunk of the 3rd Infantry Division reached the central Iraqi city of Najaf last week but had to halt their move on Kerbala to await badly needed supplies.

A Shi'ite shrine city, Kerbala is the site of a pivotal battle some 1,400 years ago where Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, was overwhelmed and killed in a clash with a far larger and superior rival Muslim force.

Shi'ites are a majority of Iraq's population but power has traditionally rested with Sunnis like President Saddam Hussein.

[JohnHuang2]

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

Quote of the Day by The Wizard

[merrin]

That seems to have happened fairly quickly (depending on how long it had been going on when it was announced).

[JohnHuang2]

New York Times Spin on this one:

Kerbala encircled, but critics note resistance was 'more than expected'

[First_Salute]

Video from Baghdad has been cut, it seems? No feeds on CBS or ABC?

[merrin]

Oh, I guess is says it right in the article: "But in the end the operation was completed within three hours."

That'll teach me to skim.

[Hanging Chad]

There is NOTHING funny about the French

[teletech]

Video from Baghdad has been cut, it seems? No feeds on CBS or ABC?

The PMSNBC web cam is still active.

[cardinal4]

But...but...but its quagmire! Our plan hasnt worked, Arnett said so! Our supply lines are in disarray.........

[green team 1999]

good , i think they can dash 40 miles after this city.

[JohnHuang2]

"But in the end the operation was completed within three hours."

New York Times will quote some "ex-General" saying, "Three hours? Ha! I could've done it in two. Tops."

[JohnHuang2]

hehehehehe

[JohnHuang2]

But...but...but its quagmire! Our plan hasnt worked, Arnett said so! Our supply lines are in disarray.........

And, don't forget, our forces are in operational pause mode, per Reuters ;)

[CyberAnt]

I don't understand the logic of not taking the whole city ... can anybody explain why we wouldn't want to do that.

[SamAdams76]

The Iraqis have really thrown us for a loop. It is obvious that our war plan has failed. We have to write a new war plan. In fact, we have to get to Baghdad in order to write the new war plan because we have run out of paper and pens on account of our supply lines being cut off. Perhaps Peter Arnett can help us write these new war plans once we get there.

[tbird1]

Just bad planning--nothing to see here---move on.
tbird1

[JohnHuang2]

hahahahaha!

[Beck_isright]

I'm saddened and concerned; does this mean we will have to take General Arnett and the Republican Guard forces head on in the streets of Baghdad? Will Dan Rather wet his pants because we had 1 casualty in a 3 day period? Will Peter Jennings openly worry that we will lose the "Battle of Baghdad" because we do not have 4 divisions of Royal Canadian Mounted Police on our flanks? Does this mean CNN will actually have to start reporting facts instead of fabricating 50% of their news? Will the New York Times flash the headline "3 hour battle of Kerbala leaves 3rd Infantry short of Chap Stick"? Time and 4 more martinis will tell. It's the only way I can stomach watching the idiot box and their coverage. Can't we just get Ollie North 24/7? He knows how to cover a war and I can't wait to see his documentary on this one...

V