US forces in first serious contact with Republican Guard: officer

NEAR NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) Mar 31, 2003
US forces have begun their first serious battle with Iraq's elite Republican Guard around the city of Karbala south of Baghdad, with 200 Iraqis killed, wounded or captured, US officers said Monday.

Fighting erupted overnight between elements of the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division and Republican Guard units southeast of Karbala, said Colonel Will Grimsley, commander of the division's First Brigade.

Other officers reported 200 Iraqis killed, wounded or captured.

Grimsley said that although there had earlier been sporadic encounters with elements of the Republican Guard in the area, "this is the first serious contact."

Reports of the battle around Karbala, a Shiite Muslim holy city 80 kilometers (50 mles) south of Baghdad, came as US armored units finalized plans for a decisive thrust toward the capital within a week, commanders said.

The 20,000-strong Third Infantry Division, the heavy armored force spearheading the US-led invasion, has concentrated near the Euphrates valley town of Najaf, 150 kilometers (95 miles) south of Baghdad.

US Apache helicopters from the 101st Airborne Division, as well as British and US warplanes, have been softening up the area around Karbala where the Republican Guard's armored Medina division was reported to be lying in wait.

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