US-led forces closed in on Baghdad, where the distant crash of artillery could be heard yesterday. US warplanes and helicopters came under heavy fire during their first Thousands more US Marines moved north toward the Iraqi capital, taking safer dirt roads to avoid cities and towns where they could face Iraqi fire. The Army's 3rd Infantry Division was within 80km of the capital, although thick sand-storms continued to slow down and even halt the progress of some units. PHOTO: AFP Republican Guard units defending Baghdad came under attack from ground and air forces. American artillery barrages typically lasted a half-hour followed by a break as the gunners took aim at another target. The intermittent sound of explosions from the outskirts of Baghdad could be heard in the center of the city of 5 million. Meanwhile, British forces -- a day after coming under heavy attack -- declared that parts of Basra, Iraq's second largest, were now a "military target." A second British soldier was reported killed overnight near the town of Az Zubayr, close to Basra. Previously, US and British troops had refused to enter Basra for fear of being caught in an urban bloodbath. At the southern oil fields, once considered secure, shadowy Iraqi forces apparently ambushed a British unit by feigning surrender. The resistance, sporadic and sometimes fierce, is generally the work of Iraqi forces like the Fedayeen, Saddam Hussein's most trusted paramilitary fighters. They wear no uniforms and hide among civilians, striking and then receding. US pilots captured The helicopter assault around Baghdad marked the first known engagement between forces in central Iraq, and many of the American craft were hit by Iraqi groundfire. One went down behind enemy lines -- the cause was unknown -- and the Pentagon said the two-person crew had been taken prisoner. Iraqi state television on Monday showed the two US Army pilots captured by Iraqi forces. The airmen were the second set of POWs paraded by the Iraqis in as many days. Iraqis have set up mortar positions south of the city and piled sandbags around government buildings and other strategic locations, in evident anticipation of a battle to come. State radio and television continued to broadcast patriotic songs and archival footage of Saddam, together with emotional messages of support from Iraqis for their president of 23 years. Yesterday's edition of Babel, a daily newspaper owned by Saddam's eldest son, Uday, published pictures of decapitated bodies it said belonged to Iraqi civilians killed in bombing raids. The US Air Force flew more than 1,500 sorties over Iraq on Monday. So far, 80 percent of the bombs and missiles used by the Air Force have been guided by lasers, radar, satellites or video cameras, a defense official said. The Pentagon says the munitions are highly accurate, but Iraq claimed that 58 civilians were killed Sunday and 469 were injured. It did not give any figures for military deaths. Iraq criticizes Arabs Iraq's Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan yesterday criticized Arabs for not supporting Iraq, hinting the Arabs should instead impose an oil embargo on the US and Britain. "Why don't they stop the flow of oil to the countries of aggression?" he asked. He didn't make a call, however, for such action. He denied that coalition troops were closing in on Baghdad. "On the sixth day, they have not entered any Iraqi village." Iraq also accused the US and Britain of creating a humanitarian crisis by forcing the UN to halt food and medicine destined for the country. Iraq's Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh denounced what he described as the "inhumane and immoral behavior" of the two countries for blocking the UN's oil-for-food program. The program allows Iraq to sell unlimited quantities of oil, provided the money is used primarily for humanitarian relief. Revenue from oil sales is kept in a UN-controlled account. It fed about 60 percent of Iraq's 22 million people before it was halted by last week's start of the US-led war. US President George W. Bush meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his staunchest ally, later this week. The US president also talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone, complaining that Russia is selling anti-tank guided missiles, jamming devices and night-vision goggles to Iraq. Baghdad and Moscow have denied the claims. General Tommy Franks, the US war commander, told reporters that 3,000 Iraqis had been taken prisoner. Blair said yesterday that "nobody should be surprised" that coalition forces had met resistance as they drove toward Baghdad. "In the five days since military action began, a huge amount has already been achieved," Blair said in his second news conference since the invasion began. "Our aim remains to remove Saddam as the route to disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. The progress toward Baghdad is of vital strategic importance." Blair said British forces had "secured" the port of Umm Qasr and were engaging the Iraqis around Basra. "Iraq and its security apparatus exists to support the regime of Saddam Hussein. Nobody should be surprised therefore that there are parts of the armed forces determined to fight, for they know that when the regime falls, which it will, they will have nowhere to go," Blair said. The prime minister said he would fly to Washington today.US Army soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division carry a wounded Iraqi prisoner of war to the battalion aid station on a captured airfield in southern Iraq. US military officials said a US Marines helicopter airlifted the three wounded Iraqi POWs and the body of one Iraqi fighter following a battle in Nasiriyah.
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MANAGING DIFFERENCES: In a meeting days after the US president signed a massive foreign aid bill, Antony Blinken raised concerns with the Chinese president about Taiwan US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and senior Chinese officials, stressing the importance of “responsibly managing” the differences between the US and China as the two sides butt heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues, including Taiwan and the South China Sea. Talks between the two sides have increased over the past few months, even as differences have grown. Blinken said he raised concerns with Xi about Taiwan and the South China Sea, along with China’s support for Russia and its invasion of Ukraine, as well as other issues