Baghdad International Airport, nine miles outside of the capital, is now in the hands of the coalition after an all-out assault overnight. Reportedly, more than 300 Iraqi troops were killed in fierce fighting that saw the destruction of at least five enemy tanks. The airport will become a crucial staging area for the final push towards Baghdad, as well as an important entry point for supplies.
In western Iraq, three more allied soldiers fell victim to another suicide attack when a car exploded at a coalition checkpoint, also killing a pregnant Iraqi woman and the car's driver. Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf has hinted at additional suicide attacks, threatening more "martyrdom" tactics from non-military personnel.
Now that allied troops are knocking on Baghdad's door, U.S. officials are intimating that plans for a post-war government are already in the works. The Pentagon, in fact, is even weighing the option of encircling Baghdad, cutting it off and waiting it out, instead of risking dangerous urban combat.
An Iraqi woman returns with her belongings back to the suburbs of Iraqi's southern city of Basra, Friday, April 4, 2003. British forces moved closer to the city center Friday and supplied the suburbs of Basra with drinking water. (Associated Press)
The Other Side - Analysis, angles and opinions on the Web
Where is Salam Pax? Iraq's Web writer has disappeared, Sacramento Bee - Blog fanatics all across cyberspace wait and wonder about the fate of this popular webmaster who offers a fascinating glimpse inside Baghdad on his Web site.
Iraq's Mysterious Strategy, Newsday - In this military chess match, is Iraq trying to draw allied troops in, or is their defense infrastructure simply collapsing?
Good winners, good losers: Postwar Iraq, Asia Times - Does post-World War II Japan serve as a good model for trying to rebuild Iraq?
Saving America From The Extremists, Dar Al-Hayat - Bush and Hussein should end this immediately, and here's how they should do it, proposes this commentator.
Posted by uswarblog
at 11:05 AM EST
Updated: Friday, 4 April 2003 11:29 AM EST
