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MARINE COMBAT HEADQUARTERS, Iraq, March 30 -- U.S. forces have started rounding up Iraqi men in civilian clothes suspected of being involved with paramilitary squads that have been attacking them in southern Iraq and may ship some of them to the detention center at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military officers said today. Marines patrolling Nasiriyah and other areas of heavy fighting have already detained more than 300 men in civilian clothes, initiating roundups intended to cope with the danger of an enemy that opens fire and then melts back into the population. "You round them up...

IN SOUTH CENTRAL IRAQ, Mar 31, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Allied soldiers inched toward Baghdad on Monday, capturing or killing paramilitary fighters and Republican Guard while new waves of U.S. bombs set off blazes in the Iraqi capital. U.S. troops killed about 100 paramilitary fighters in and around the Shiite holy city of Najaf and seized several dozen Republican Guard in Hindiyah, south of Baghdad. The dawn assault on Hindiyah clinched control of the closest known point in the U.S.-led advance on Baghdad, where a battle with the Republican Guard, the best-trained Iraqi troops, looms. At least...

U.S. jets bomb Basra paramilitary meeting AS SAYLIYA CAMP, Qatar, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes have used laser-guided bombs to destroy a building in the southern Iraqi city of Basra where some 200 paramilitary members were meeting, U.S. Central Command said on Saturday. A spokesman at Central Command's battle headquarters said early reports indicated that "no one came out" of the shattered two-story structure. The spokesman said the bombing was part of the campaign to take Basra, Iraq's second largest city, from forces loyal to President Saddam Hussein. Iraqi forces have prevented U.S.-led forces from seizing control of Basra,...

<p>CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) -- A pair of F-15E Strike Eagles destroyed a two-story building in Basra where some 200 Iraqi regime paramilitary members were believed to be meeting Friday night, the U.S. Central Command said.</p> <p>The U.S. Air Force jets used laser-guided munitions to destroy the building, while leaving undamaged the Basra Christian Church 300 yards away, the officials said. They said a delayed fuse allowed the bombs to penetrate the structure before detonation, minimizing the effects of the blast.</p>

Iraq Paramilitary forces in Basra fired mortars and machine guns on a 'couple of thousand' Iraqi civilians trying to leave the besieged city, British Military officials said.Members of Britain's 7th Armoured Brigade were trying to neutralize the fire, evacuate the civilians and prepare to treat any casulties, said Lt. Col. Ronnie McCourt sopkesman for British forces in the gulf.

<p>AMP DOHA, Kuwait, March 27 ? The United States military now faces a series of difficult calculations in its efforts to overthrow Saddam Hussein and his government.</p> <p>One way to accomplish that goal is to try to advance quickly to the outskirts of Baghdad, destroy the Republican Guard troops defending the approaches to the capital and then win the fight inside the city.</p> <p>Once Mr. Hussein is deposed, the fedayeen and other paramilitary forces that have been attacking allied troops as they head north would find themselves cut off from the main source of their power.</p>

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) -- Iraqi paramilitary forces in Basra fired mortars and machine gunfire Friday on a "couple of thousand" Iraqi civilians trying to flee city, British military officials said. Members of Britain's 7th Armored Brigade were trying to neutralize the fire, evacuate the civilians and treat the wounded, said Lt. Col. Ronnie McCourt, a spokesman for British forces in the Gulf. He said a "couple of thousand" Iraqi civilians had tried to break out of the besieged city in the north and west, but came under fire from Iraqi paramilitary forces inside. "We are trying to...

<p>Stiffer-than-expected resistance by paramilitary fighters in southern Iraq has forced the United States to change its war plans by diverting additional air and land forces for what is now an anti-guerrilla mission.</p> <p>There are also complaints coming from the field about tactics used in at least two early battles. One involved Monday's Apache helicopter attack that was repulsed by the Republican Guard's Medina Division south of Baghdad. The Iraqis shot down one Apache, nicked and punctured scores of others, and took two aviators as prisoners of war.</p>

<p>Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein yesterday threw waves of marauding paramilitary forces from Baghdad against the Army's mechanized 5th Corps, while Iraqi tanks dashed from the besieged southern city of Basra, only to be pounded by waves of air strikes.</p> <p>The 5th Corps and its tank-laden 3rd Infantry Division, on their drive to Baghdad, have killed more than 1,000 of the fanatical fighters led by Saddam's personal militia, the black-hooded Fedayeen Saddam, commanders said.</p>