US Invasion Army Says Saddam Airport Occupied, 320 Iraqi Soldiers Killed

04/04/2003| IslamWeb

U.S. invasion infantry occupied part of Baghdad's airport Friday and sealed the entrance closest to the capital. The U.S. military said 320 Iraqi foot soldiers had been killed so far in fighting for control of Saddam International Airport. Gunshots were heard from inside, and it was unclear how many Iraqi troops remained in the airport, about 16 KMs southwest of central Baghdad. Combat patrols were moving through the area, which has numerous military and civilian buildings, Lt. Col. Scott Rutter, commander of the 7th Battalion of the 7th Infantry, told Associated Press Television News.

"What's happening ... is we basically occupied the airport," Rutter said as his forces blocked the airport entrance closest to the capital. He added a message to the people of Baghdad: "This is the first step possibly of many more ... We're here, and they can rise up and deal with the regime appropriately and (prevent) some future battle inside the city."

However, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested the airport was not completely under U.S. control. He told The Associated Press that it had seemed like U.S. forces had taken the airport, "and then it got more confusing" with continued fighting.

Myers also said Republican Guard divisions were moving around the outskirts of Baghdad to the east and west.

PHOTO CAPTION

These photos released by the US Defense Department (DOD) show a command and control facility (top) at Saddam International Airport in Baghdad. The facility is shown at bottom after coalition airstrikes(AFP)