An Iraqi soldier,
top right, looks on at parts described
as the remains of
a missile which exploded in a
schoolyard in Baghdad,
Tuesday, March 25 2003.
Several explosions
rocked Baghdad's outskirts
Tuesday, while U.S.-led
coalition forces attacked
elite Republican
Guards defending the approaches
to Baghdad. (AP
Photo/Samir Mezban) |
IN SOUTHERN IRAQ
- About 500 Iraqi fighters have been killed in the last two days by the
3rd Infantry Division's tanks and mechanized units as they swept through
southern Iraq, according to reports reaching ground forces command.
The estimate came
Tuesday from Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Preston of V Corps, who oversees
the 3rd Infantry Division.
Preston said U.S.
forces ran into "a lot" of Iraqi tanks and anti-aircraft weaponry and "thousands
and thousands" of weapons around the city of Najaf.
'This could have
been very ugly, but they're not very motivated," Preston said of the regular
Iraqi army recruits. "I think a lot of them wanted to go home." |
