US aircraft hit a Red Crescent maternity hospital in Baghdad, the city's trade fair and other civilian buildings yesterday, killing several people and wounding at least 25, hospital sources and a news agency witness said.
The attacks occurred at 9:30am and caught motorists by surprise as they ventured out during a lull in the bombing. At least five cars were crushed with drivers burned to death inside, a Reuters correspondent said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
At least three doctors and nurses working at the Iraqi Red Crescent hospital were wounded in the blasts. Among the wounded were patients who had come to hospital for help.
The missiles obliterated wings of Baghdad's trade fair building, which lies next to a government security office that was apparently missed in the bombings.
Meanwhile, in a key move in the push toward Baghdad, US forces seized a bridge over the Tigris River and swept past battered Republican Guard units. One of the key Guard divisions, defending the city of Kut, "has been destroyed," a US general said.
Further south, US commanders said Iraqi soldiers were shooting from inside a revered mosque in Najaf and American soldiers withheld return fire.
US commandos rescued 19-year-old Private Jessica Lynch from captivity at an Iraqi hospital that was being used as a command post. The commandos who freed her also retrieved 11 bodies, none of which were immediately identified.
The US Army's 3rd Infantry Division and the First Marine Expeditionary Force mounted a two-pronged attack on the outer defenses of Baghdad, and both reported breakthroughs as units entered the so-called "red zone" within 80km of the capital. US officials say Iraqi resistance will be most tenacious in this zone and have warned of the possible use of chemical weapons.
The "red line" is the area within artillery and missile range of Republican Guard units defending Baghdad.
In an attack launched at midnight, 3rd Infantry units surged past the strategic city of Karbala, targeting an estimated 2,000 paramilitary fighters. Karbala, which sits on the main approach to Baghdad from the southwest, was encircled and hit by night-long bombardment from US artillery and warplanes.
To the east, thousands of Marines moved against Kut after capturing an important bridge over the Tigris River. Brigadier General Vincent Brooks said the Baghdad Division, defending Kut, was destroyed.
For days prior to the offensive, both the Baghdad Division and the Republican Guard's Medina Division defending Karbala had been pounded by airstrikes and artillery barrages. US officials said the bombardment reduced the strength of both divisions by more than 50 percent.
"We are aware of where the Republican Guard was positioned; we have engaged them and are into their area," said a US Central Command spokesman, Navy Captain Frank Thorp. "The battle is being waged and we are doing well."
The commander of British forces in Iraq, Air Marshal Brian Burridge, described the latest developments as "certainly a decisive engagement in which we are now just beginning with the Republican Guard."
"The point I would make, though, is that decisive phases often take time. I wouldn't want to give you the impression that within a day or two this is going to be finished," he said.
In Najaf, about 80km south of Karbala, the Central Command said US forces were being fired on from the Ali Mosque, one of the most important Shiite Muslim sites. US commanders have been trying to minimize damage to religious sites to avoid angering Muslims in Iraq and abroad.
The International Red Cross, meanwhile, said some its staff members saw the bodies of dozens of people -- including women and children -- at a town south of Baghdad where Iraqi officials claim US helicopters attacked a residential neighborhood. At least 280 injured people were being treated at a hospital in Hillah, about 96km south of Baghdad, the Red Cross said.
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