Attack on Saddam Airport, Dozens of Iraqis Killed; Baghdad Power Grid Hit

04/04/2003| IslamWeb

U.S. troops attacked Baghdad's international airport Thursday night after pushing through the outskirts of the capital. Tracer rounds, anti-aircraft fire and artillery blasted near Saddam International Airport, 16 kms southwest of the city center. Planes blasted targets in and around the city. Saddam International Airport is located west of central Baghdad, adjacent to the Radwaniyah presidential site, which served as Saddam's main residence.

Earlier Thursday, a group of reporters was taken there after Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, in his daily briefing, dismissed as lies unconfirmed reports that circulated in Baghdad about a US landing there.

According to some reports, dozens of Iraqis, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in the village of Furat near Baghdad airport on Thursday evening in what witnesses said was a U.S. rocket strike. A Reuters reporter said more than 120 people were wounded in the attack on the village, which lies between the airport and the Iraqi capital. Iraqi officials put the total death toll at 83, but it could not be independently confirmed.

Meanwhile, large sections of Baghdad lost power for the first time since the war began after huge explosions rocked the capital. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, however, the U.S. Central Command has not targeted the city's power grid.

Other Key Developments in the Invasion of Iraq

*_ Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicating there may not be an all-out battle for Baghdad, suggested isolating members of the old regime and setting up a "interim administration."

*_ In southern Iraq, British forces penetrated closer to the center of Basra, a city of 1.3 million where Iraqi defenders have held out for days.

*_ In the north, U.S. warplanes pounded front lines after Iraqi troops retreated from strategic hilltop positions.

*_ Saddam Hussein urged the Iraqi people to "fight them with your hands," according to a statement read on Iraqi television.

*_ Special Forces raided Saddam's Thar Thar presidential palace near Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, seizing documents but finding no senior members of the regime.

*_ The U.S. military reported four deadly accidents involving American forces, including the downing of a U.S. fighter jet.

*_ Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said there was "not a chance" that the United States would make a deal with Saddam Hussein to halt the war.

*_ Secretary of State Colin Powell's meeting with NATO and European Union counterparts in Brussels failed to resolve differences over the nature of the U.N role after the fighting.

*_ German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called for the first time for the removal of Saddam Hussein in a speech to parliament.

*_ Iran's president warned that terrorists would view the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as a "green light" to attack U.S. interests and called on Americans to "wake up" and stop the war.

PHOTO CAPTION

A helicopter, seen in this video image released by the Department of Defense on Thursday, April 3, 2003, waits on the ground at the Thar Thar presidential palace west of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. Brig. (AP Photo/Department of Defense via APTN) - Apr 03 9:15 PM ET