Post Latest Iraq War News Here - Part II

[CrONoS]

What is your source or links BoshKo??
Send us links or source.. otherwise this gonna be a discussion thread...

[CrONoS]

Moscow accuses Washington of destroying Iraq
" As Russia and other numerous countries had envisaged it, the war directly touched the Iraqi civil population and the infrastructures. The ceaseless bombardments cause more and more victims and destroy residential buildingsships ", clarified the Russian ministry.
" They say that the Iraqi people are oppressed by a tyrant, that these people must be freed and that the democracy must be installed in Iraq. Look now how they want to reach this purpose: by usingthe most powerful weapons of the history ", Igor Ivanov in front of the Russian Parliament beat
Here is some days, the United States had accused the Russian companies of having violated the embargo on the deliveries of weapons in Iraq by supplying to Saddam Hussein's regime of the military material, going of missiles antitanks to glasses of night-vision, by way of devices of blocking of satellite signals
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http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/

[DarthVeda]

30,000 more troops to be sent to the Gulf:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-625152,00.html

[GRU]

Urgent news coming from www.irakwar.ru

Today morning American aircrafts have attacked a G.I. unit near En-Nasiriya being fooled by Iraqi commandoes. Numerous coalition rescue choopers are coming to the place.

EDIT: Aha, I see the following news item from BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2890523.stm

Twenty US Marines are injured when Iraqi forces launch rocket attacks on their positions south of Nasiriya. US forces respond with a heavy air bombardment

P.S. Most probably, it is different view of the same accident.

EDIT: Al-Jazeera confirms the frinedly-fire accident. Coaltiion casualty toll is measured in tens.

[CrONoS]

the Leader sh'iite oppositions has denied messages of the western MASS-MEDIA on the revolt which has ostensibly occurred in Basra against the Baghdad mode
============ (translated from russian)

http://www1.iraqwar.ru/

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GRU: We seem's loving www.irakwar.ru

[CrONoS]

the CHAPTER IRAQ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HAS DENIED STATEMENTS of USA About DELIVERIES of the RUSSIAN MILITARY ENGINEERING To IRAQ (translated from russian)
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http://www.itar-tass.com/

[Messer Niccolò]

Reuters news....


==========
QUOTES
U.S. defence official on paratroop landing: "This is the
beginning of the northern front"
Iraqi statement on resistance: "The coming days will be more difficult and harsher on them (U.S.-led forces). By God they have no way out of this deadly trap except to admit defeat and flee."
Rumsfeld: "We are increasing the number of forces in the country every day. We're increasing them in the north, we're increasing them in the south and we're increasing them in the west."

CASUALTIES
* U.S.: 22 killed, two missing
* UK: 20 killed, two missing
* Iraqi military - no reliable figures
* Iraqi civilians (Iraqi estimates) - At least 175 killed

MILITARY ACTION

BAGHDAD: More huge explosions rock the centre of Baghdad overnight after a day of heavy air raids aimed primarily at the outskirts of the Iraqi capital.
Western aircraft attacked nine Iraqi missile launch sites
but it was not known if any of the weapons struck a busy street where at least 15 civilians were killed.

SOUTHERN IRAQ:
Britain says destroyed much of Iraqi column south of Basra.
U.S. troops fought a fierce battle with Iraqi forces for
control of a bridge over the Euphrates river close to Najaf.
U.S. Marines fought bloody skirmishes as their surge north towards Baghdad came under sporadic Iraqi attack. U.S. artillery fired back, allowing the Marines to get through Shatra after a two-hour delay and reach Qal'at Sukkar, about 100 km (60 miles) north of Nassiriya.

NORTHERN IRAQ: Around 1,000 U.S. troops parachuted into Kurdish-controlled north, taking an airfield without resistance. U.S. warplanes pounded Iraqi positions overlooking Chamchamal.

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sadly all this is not yet finished....

[GRU]

Messer Niccolò,

Correction for casualties:
Confirmed coalition death toll is equal to 47.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

Details of confirmed UK only casualties are here

http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/casualties.htm

Note that official data about coalition casualties are very confusing. Read the following lines from CENTCOM's latest briefing and make your conclusion.'

http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Transcripts/20030326.htm

"GEN. BROOKS: As a matter of practice, we just aren't going to announce numbers of casualties. I can tell you, any losses we've had have been very, very small."

[Messer Niccolò]

37 marines wounded by friendly fire - 6 vehicles destroyed

Friendly Fire (in Italian)

[the_ceebs]

www.aeronautics.ru/news/news002/news079.htm

It is difficult not to not to notice the extremely overstretched frontline of the coalition. This frontline is stretching toward Baghdad through An-Najaf and Karabela and its right flank goes all the way along the Euphrates and is completely exposed. All main supply and communication lines of the coalition are going through unprotected desert. Already the supply routes are stretching for more than 350 kilometers and are used to deliver 800 tonnes of fuel and up to 1,000 tonnes of ammunition, food and other supplies daily to the advancing forces.

If the Iraqis deliver a decisive strike at the base of this front, the coalition will find itself in a very difficult situation, with its main forces, cutoff from the resupply units, losing their combat readiness and mobility and falling an easy pray to the Iraqis.

It is possible that the Americans are relying on the power of their aviation that should prevent any such developments. It is also possible that this kind of self confidence may be very dangerous.

Massive numbers of disabled combat vehicles and other equipment becomes a strategic problem for the coalition. Already, radio intercepts indicate, all available repair units have been deployed to the front. Over 60% of all available spare parts have been already used and emergency additional supplies are being requested.

The sand is literally "eating up" the equipment. Sand has a particularly serious effect on electronics and transmissions of combat vehicles. Already more than 40 tanks and up to 69 armored personnel carriers have been disabled due to damaged engines; more than 150 armored vehicles have lost the use of their heat-seeking targeting sights and night vision equipment. Fine dust gets into all openings and clogs up all moving parts.

The coalition command has effectively acknowledged its defeat in the information war with the strikes against the television center in Baghdad and now further strikes should be expected against television and ground satellite transmitters. The coalition is attempting to leave the Iraqis without information in order to demoralize them.

The extreme length of the resupply routes and the actions of the Iraqi reconnaissance units have created a new problem: the coalition command is forced to admit that it has no information about the conditions on the roads. Currently, as intercepted radio communications show, the coalition command is trying to establish the whereabouts of more than 500 of its troops that fell behind their units, departed with resupply convoys or were carrying out individual assignments. So far it was not possible to establish how many of these troops are dead, captured or have successfully reached other units.

[GRU]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2003/b03262003_bt158-03.html

DOD ANNOUNCES STATUS OF 507TH SOLDIERS
The Department of Defense announced today the status of 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company soldiers who were ambushed March 23 by enemy forces in Iraq.

2 dead
8 DUSTWUN
5 PoW

[GRU]

Russian State RTR TV:

37 wounded coalition troops are transported in Spain in mitary hospital. TV says that another 34 wounded troops are in Germany now. Totally, the known number of wounded, who has been evacuated in Europe, is equal to 71.

[GRU]

Summary of Iraqi claims done by Russian mass-media:

1) Iraq denied some of coalition PoWs have been executed.
2) Today more coalition PoWs and kiled servicemen would be shown in Iraqi TV.
3) Iraqi and Red Cross experts repaired partially water supply in Basra up to 50%.
4) 36 civialians dead last night in Baghdad due to coalition bombs. Total civilian casulty toll is equal to 350 dead and near 4000 injured.

[GRU]

http://www.kommersant.ru/lenta.html?id=64475

(in Russian)

Coalition commandoes confused Iraq and Iran.
March 27, a group of commandoes has been paradroped mistakenly to swamps of southern Iranian province Khozeestan. Both of sides, commandoes and citizen of small Iranian town Dorug, have been very surprized when see each other.

P.S. Shall I remind that at the beginning of war China has sent the exact address of their embassy in Baghdad to USA? :-)

[GRU]

Several Russian sources:

Red Cross is officially replied to request sent by Russian side that neither US nor UK delivered to them the exact information about the number of Iraqi PoWs. Besides, representatives of Red Cross are still not allowed to see these prisonners.