Marines march within 12 miles of Baghdad

Baghdad - In a startlingly quick move on the Iraqi capital, American troops battered through Saddam Hussein's forces south of Baghdad on Thursday and were near the international airport, 12 miles from the city center, a U.S. military spokesman said.

South and west of Baghdad thousands of U.S. military vehicles of the 7th Infantry were crossing the Euphrates River toward Baghdad after fighting through a failed Iraqi attempt to hold the bridge at Musayyib about 35 miles due south of the capital. The bridge had been wired with explosives which were disarmed by U.S. engineers.

Scores of blown up Iraqi vehicles and dozens of dead bodies lined the roads where the Iraqis had built fighting positions. The dead are in uniform — though it was unclear whether they were Republican Guard or regular army units.

Dozens of Iraqi soldiers have surrendered. The Army was slowly shuttling the prisoners to the rear.

Southeast of the city advancing Marines found black combat boots discarded along the road by Iraqi fighters who have taken off their military footwear and changed into robes, hoping to avoid capture as combatants.

The Marines were stopping every vehicle they met along the main road. Drivers and passengers got out of taxis and cars and stood by the road with their hands in the air.

At a Baath Party building flying Iraqi flags, a small group of men sat clustered in a grassy area around a woman dressed in a black chador and waving a white flag of surrender.

Many groups of Iraqis sat down by the roadside, waving and smiling at the Marines to show they were not combatants.

American infantry troops were moving out of the desert into farm fields with tall grass and palm trees. Small farms with rice paddies dot the banks of the Euphrates and irrigation canals.

U.S. military spokesman Capt. Frank Thorp in Doha said the path to Baghdad was becoming clearer as more Republican Guards were defeated and the feared last stand by Saddam's most loyal troops was not materializing.

"We are getting closer and closer to Baghdad. When we decide to go into Baghdad, we will be in Baghdad within a matter of hours from when we decide to go," he said.

Iraqi soldiers had used the tall grass as cover to fire on U.S. forces, which were forced to weave through and around irrigation canals. U.S. war planes continued to roar overhead providing cover for advancing U.S. troops.

Around the bridge that crosses the Euphrates, hundreds of tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and a bridge building unit stood by had the Iraqis blown the bridge.

The temperature was to reach into the 90s Thursday and U.S. troops were expected to remain in chemical protective gear after unconfirmed reports that Iraqi commanders had given orders to use chemical weapons when coalition forces crossed the bridge.

So far no such weapons detected, but the troops were hot and miserable.

There was a report that scout vehicle had been hit by a rocket propelled grenade.

"A scout just got hit by an RPG, this is serious up here," said Capt. Chris Carter from Wakinsville, Ga.

The U.S. convoy was kicking up huge plumes of dust as the hundreds of vehicles rolled down the single tarmac and dirt road. All the talk on the radio was about how to clear up the traffic jams.

The Marines southeast of Baghdad began the Thursday drive toward the capital protected by withering artillery and mortar fire. A massive convoy of moved along the main road leading to the Iraqi capital.

Relentless fire from 155 mm howitzers rained on Iraqi positions near the town of Numaniyah as the Marine advance resumed. Large black plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the town and its prized Tigris River crossing, taken by American troops Wednesday.

The Pentagon said Iraqi Republican Guard reinforcements had moved out of Baghdad toward the approaching Americans. New groups of Saddam's best trained and equipped fighters were dispatched to replace guard units shattered Wednesday when some U.S. forces had fought to within 20 miles of the city.

But many Iraqi units quickly abandoned defensive positions and fled, leaving behind trenches littered with everything from mortars and small arms to teapots and bedspreads.

"When they ran, it wasn't for lack of ammo. They've got enough," one Marine said as he examined the trenches.

The Marine column was moving along the Tigris, joined by thousands of Marines coming in from the west. Multiple convoys, including flatbeds, fuel tankers, first aid and supply vehicles, merged outside Numaniyah, creating a traffic jam at the Tigris bridge.

With coalition forces now well into the so-called Red Zone radiating from Baghdad, troops had breached the region in which commanders feared Saddam's forces might resort to the use of chemical or biological weapons.

The United States believes Iraq has mortar shells, artillery and short-range missiles capable of carrying chemical weapons, including the FROG-7 — used to carry mustard gas during the Iran-Iraq war — which has a 40-mile range.

Iraq denies it still has weapons of mass destruction, and U.S. troops have yet to locate any, although they've found hundreds of chemical protective suits. -- Associated Press

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