Post Latest Iraq War News Here - Part II

[GRU]

ITAR-TASS Russian news agency:

Last night, the Russian embassy in Baghdad has been attacked by group of armed unknowns. Iraqi guards have exchanged fire with attackers and caused them to retreat. No Russian casualties reported.

Sources in Russian Foreign Ministry told that at least two groups of Russian commandoes are in Baghdad now. One is to defend the Russian embassy in case of any attack and other is monitoring the whole situation in city. Third group is stationed in south-west of Iran close to battlefield.

[GRU]

Loss of Apache has been reported by www.irakwar.ru about 2 hours ago. The serial number of chopper is 95135 .

According to the same site, an A-10 plane has experienced problems last night. It is still not known if the pilot succeded to reach coalition lines...

[GRU]

Iraqi TV claims that Apache was downed by a farmer from usual rifle by the only shot :-)

P.S. His name shall be Al-Rambo Al-Baghdadi :-)

[Hurricane]

From IRNA.com:

IFJ demands inquiry into death of reporter by allied fire

Brussels, March 24, IRNA -- The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) Monday called for the US military leading the
invasion of Iraq to conduct ''a full and searching inquiry'' into the
circumstances that led to the killing of Terry Lloyd the veteran
ITN reporter.
The death, apparently at the hands of coalition forces, comes just
a day after Australian cameraman, Paul Moran, was killed in a suicide
bombing in Northern Iraq.
Lloyd's death was confirmed by his employers today, but there is
still no confirmation of the fate of his two colleagues, cameraman
Fred Nerac and translator Hussein Osman who were also part of
the team that came under fire near Basra.
''Talk of so-called 'friendly fire' and 'precision bombing' is put
into a terrible perspective when we learn of the appalling
circumstances of this incident,'' said Aidan White, IFJ General
Secretary in a statement.
''There must be a full and searching inquiry into how a press
vehicle, clearly marked, can be subject to such an attack. It must
never happen again,'' he stressed.
Iraqi ambulances took a number of dead and injured from the
incident into Basra and it is believed that Terry Lloyd's body was
among the dead.
There are 2,074 registered members of the news media in Kuwait,
529 of whom are embedded with coalition forces.
The Brussels-based IFJ is said to be the world's largest
journalists' organizations representing over 500,000 media persons in
more than 100 countries.
NK/RR

[Hurricane]

Here is a pic of the downed Apache. Swedish Aftonbladet speculates that the good condition of the chopper might suggest that motor failure rather than enemy fire brought the helicopter down.

[GRU]

Numerous Russian sources discuss why downed AH-64 has not been destroyed by coalition forces. This is a normal practice of US military to destroy the fallen aircrafts/choppers if the sensitive technology may be captured by enemies.

[Hurricane]

Apparently US ground forces are not too far away. Maybe they want to get it back intact for repairs.

[GRU]

Urgent news from Russian ITAR-TASS agency
http://www.rambler.ru/db/news/msg.ht...32&mid=3300203 (in Russian)

President Putin orders Russian Foreign Ministry to contact Iraqi government and to check if US PoW are treated in a proper way. "Russia knows what are conditions of those PoW and hopes that Iraq will follow Geneva Convention".

P.S. After leaving of Chinese embassy from Baghdad, 25 Russian diplomats are the only international personnel who can guarantee the safety of coalition PoWs.

[Hurricane]

Again from IRNA:

USWAR/First group of American war-injured arrive in Germany

Berlin, Mar 24, IRNA -- The first goup of injured American soldiers,
wounded during combat actions in Iraq, arrived Monday morning at a US
airbase in southwest Germany for medical treatment, German television
quoted an unnamed US army spokeswoman as saying.
It showed footages of 14 injured US soldiers who were carried on
stretchers from a US Hercules C-130 transport aircraft onto
ambulances, waiting to transfer them to a nearby American military
hospital in the town of Landstuhl.
The nature of the soldiers' injuries was not known immediately,
according to the report.
US troops suffered heavy casualties over the weekend in clashes
with the Iraqi Army.
OT/HZ/LS

[Fidel]

intelligence report for this morning at www.iraqwar.ru

(they have given so far remarkably accurate predictions of the battle plans, operations,etc.)

fao - english marines repulsed yesterday 3-5 kms, reinforcements brought in
english convoy to basra ambushed with numerous losses
el nasseria battle was a draw, americans have ca 40 killed, 10 taken prisoners and ca. 200 wounded. it took 6 hrs there to counter iraqi counterattack
coalition forces are regrouping and resupplying and are on defensive along the frontline. no new coalition attacks expected until the afternoon

[Fidel]

according to b92 serbian radio station, quoting reuters, china informed us on the address of its embassy in baghdad in order to avoid another incident

[Gangerolf]

the iraqis say they have captured two pilots and "will maybe show pictures of them."

[Messer Niccolò]

Reuters News

From Reuters:


Military action by 1200 GMT on day five of Iraq war

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters)
Following are the known military operations by 1200 GMT on day five of the war:

BAGHDAD: Saddam appeared on Iraqi television, praising Iraq's military efforts, saying victory is coming.
- New explosions hit Baghdad with a Reuters witness saying there were six explosions from the east and south east. A number of faint explosions were also heard to the south.
CENTRAL IRAQ: The U.S. confirmed that one of their U.S. Apache Longbow helicopters was shot down near the city of Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) southwest of Baghdad.

SOUTHERN IRAQ: U.S. Marines were still bogged down at the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya, the key to opening a second route north to Baghdad, after taking significant casualties there the day before.

Nassiriya, where two strategic bridges span the Euphrates River, has seen the sharpest fighting so far. The death toll among U.S. forces involved in fierce fighting in the southern Iraqi town of Nassiriya has risen to 10. A CNN correspondent citing U.S. commanders, said the number of wounded stood at 12 and 16 more were still missing.

U.S. forces fired artillery volleys towards the southern Iraqi town of Samawa around 270 km (170 miles) south of Baghdad.

Polish "GROM" (Thunder) special forces had joined operations in the Gulf port of Umm Qasr, where resistance by Iraqi forces was continuing.

Armed Iraqis surfaced in Iraq's southern Rumaila oilfields forcing the U.S. military to declare it a no-go zone.

NORTHERN IRAQ: Warplanes pounded Iraqi bunkers on hilltops overlooking the Kurdish-held town of Chamchamal, in the first attack in the area since the war started.

Explosions also hit Iraqi positions around 15 km (nine miles) further west in the direction of Kirkuk.

The northern Iraqi city of Mosul came under two waves of bombardment.


KUWAIT: Patriot missiles shot down an incoming missile over northern Kuwait shortly after air raid sirens sounded.

[Eli]

Shinont(sp?), the Chinese news agency reports that yp to 103 US soldiers were killed in battles in Nasariya.

[Messer Niccolò]

Again reuters

(Resume)

Apaches ran into 'hornet's nest' of Iraqi fire-CNN

KUWAIT, March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Apache attack helicopters ran into a major battle south of Baghdad on Monday in the closest fighting to the Iraqi capital in five days of war, a CNN reporter with the helicopter unit said.

Iraqi television earlier showed gun-waving Iraqis dancing around a downed Apache. Iraq said local farmers had brought down two Apaches and said it would later show the second helicopter and the captured pilots on television.

The Apache is a twin-engine army attack helicopter which has been deployed in the 1991 Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.