Byline: DREW BROWN, ANDREA GERLIN and MARTIN MERZER Knight Ridder -
OUTSIDE BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops closed to within 20 miles of Baghdad on Wednesday, punching through the remnants of Republican Guard divisions and rolling nearly within sight of Saddam Hussein's seat of power.
``The dagger is clearly pointed at the heart of the regime,'' said U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks. ``We have the regime on the run.''
Still ahead: the battle for the capital itself. Still unknown: the location of thousands of Republican Guard troops who seem to have vanished in the fields, marshes and hills.
The successes of the day were tempered overnight when seven American soldiers were killed and four injured after a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down near Karbala, south of Baghdad.
A senior defense official said the helicopter was brought down by small arms fire, possibly rifles and machine guns. The four injured were rescued; the attack brought the number of U.S. fatalities to 56.
Also near Karbala, Iraq shot down a U.S. Navy …
No comments:
Post a Comment