- The IRAQWAR.RU analytical center was created recently
by a group of journalists and military experts from Russia to provide accurate
and up-to-date news and analysis of the war against Iraq. The following
is the English translation of the IRAQWAR.RU report based on the Russian
military intelligence (the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU) reports.
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- [The following translation of the iraqwar.ru report has
been kindly provided by "Necroman". You can find the original
report in Russian as well as this translation on the iraqwar.ru site. Venik]
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- April 5, 2003, 1357hrs MSK (GMT +4 DST), Moscow - The
situation on the US-Iraqi front is characterized by gradual reduction of
American offensive activity. After the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division
tank forces had marched towards Baghdad and its vanguards reached the city
from south and south-west, engineering fortification of their positions
began, which indicates the end of the current stage of the campaign as
well as the loss of offensive potential of American forces and necessity
to rest and regroup. It is supposed that during the next two days the American
command will attempt local strikes in order to improve and extend their
positions on the south and, especially, south-west approaches to Baghdad
(crossing the Baghdad - Samarra roadway) and begin bringing fresh forces
from Kuwait.
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- As we supposed, during the last night Americans were
moving 101st Airborne Division troops to help the 1st Mechanized Division
that captured the airport of Baghdad yesterday morning. About 80 strike
and transport helicopters and 500 marines were deployed there.
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- But all the efforts to reinforce the brigade with heavy
armor failed as Iraqi started powerful artillery strikes at the transport
routes and organized mobile firing groups on the roads. After reports about
losing 3 tanks and 5 APCs on the route the American command had to pause
the movement of the reinforcements by land.
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- Yesterday's estimates of the forces concentrated here
were overstated. After analysis of intercepted radio communications and
reports of American commanders it was specified that at the airport there
were only parts of the 1st brigade troops, up to 2 enforced battalions
with the help of a self-propelled artillery division 3 thousand soldiers
and officers strong, 60 tanks and about 20 guns.
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- Another battalion enforced with artillery crossed the
Baghdad-Amman roadway and came into position at the crossroads to the south
of the airport, near Abu-Harraib.
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- Soldiers of the 1st Mechanized Brigade spent almost all
the last night in chemical protection suits, waiting for Iraqi to use their
"untraditional weapons". Apart from that, their positions were
constantly shot with artillery and machine gun fire. The brigade commanders
report that the soldiers are ultimately dead-beat, and are constantly requesting
reinforcements.
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- About 10 armored units including 4 tanks were lost in
this area yesterday. Up to 9 men were killed, about 20 wounded, at least
25 reported missing. Moreover, the status of a patrol group that didn't
arrive at the airport remains unclear. It is supposed that it either moved
away towards Khan-Azad and took defense there or got under an ambush and
was eliminated. It is now being searched for.
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- The losses of Iraqi were up to 40 men killed, about 200
captured (including the airport technical personnel), 4 guns and 3 tanks.
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- Currently American reconnaissance squadrons are trying
to dissect the suburban defenses with local sallies.
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- At the same time, marine troops are approaching the south-east
borders of Baghdad. Their vanguard units reached the outskirts of Al-Jessir
and immediately tried to capture the bridge over a feeder of the Tigris,
the Divala river, but were met with fire and stopped.
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- Commander of the 1st Expeditionary Marine Squadron colonel
Joe Dowdy was deposed yesterday morning. As was revealed, the colonel was
deposed "for utmost hesitation and loss of the initiative during the
storm of An-Nasiriya". This way the coalition command in Qatar found
an excuse for their military faults by that town. The "guilt"
of the colonel was in his refusing to enter the town for almost 3 days
and trying to suppress Iraqi resistance with artillery and aviation, trying
to avoid losses. As a result, the command additionally had to move the
15th squadron of colonel Tomas Worldhouser there, who had to storm the
ferriages for almost 6 days, with about 20 of his soldiers killed, 130
wounded and 4 missing. The 1st Expeditionary Squadron lost no men at An-Nasiriya,
but 3 marines died, as were reported, "by inadvertency" and about
20 soldiers got wounded.
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- Despite the fact that marines were able to capture one
of the bridges at the south outskirt of An-Nasiriya, the ferriage across
the Euphrates is still risky. Fights in the city are going on. The American
command has to cover the ferriage with a company of marines enforced with
tanks and artillery, up to 400 soldiers and officers strong. Every column
passing across the bridge gets shot by Iraqis from the left bank and the
marines have to cover it by setting smoke screens and delivering constant
fire. A brigade group of the 101st Airborne Division is engaged in the
combat but is unable to break the Iraqi resistance. Throughout the day
3 men were wounded, 1 soldier reported missing.
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- In An-Najaf, after 3 days of gunning and bombardment
the 101st Airborne Division marines were able to advance towards the center
of the town and are now fighting in the market region.
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- It is reported that 2 marines were killed and 4 wounded.
1 APC was destroyed with a RPG. At the same time there arrived information
that during the last night most of the garrison (up to 3 thousand Republican
Guardians of the "Medina" Division) left the town on cars for
Karbala. Only militia remained in the town, covering the withdrawing main
forces and continuing to resist.
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- All the attempts of American marines to advance into
Al-Khindiya failed. After 1 APC from the vanguard was knocked out and more
than 20 RPG shots at the column, the marines withdrew at their original
positions. 2 soldiers were wounded and evacuated rearwards. American intelligence
believes that no more than a battalion of Iraqis are defending the town.
Their resistance remains, despite that the town has already been under
siege for 8 days.
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- Americans were unable to capture the left-bank part of
Al-Hillah. The 82nd Airborne Division troops are only capable of keeping
a narrow "corridor" - across the outskirt of Al-Hillah with the
bridge over the Euphrates. There is constant shooting in the town. Throughout
the day in this region the coalition lost 1 men killed and 4 wounded.
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- A similar "corridor" is kept by marines in
the Al-Kut town. But there is information that allows us to suppose that
Americans were pushed away from the town last night. Continuous requests
of artillery and aviation support and coordinates transmitted to the artillery
HQ indicate that the combat occurred in immediate proximity to the American
positions. 4 times ambulance helicopters flew into this region, and there
hasn't still been a report from the commander of the marine group that
defends this area, which may indicate that he hasn't yet have full information
about his units.
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- The situation at Al-Diwaniyah, where a heavy combat has
been going on for 3 days, has become a little clearer. Currently all American
forces have been pushed away from the town. Early morning an American helicopter
was attacked. Its crew died. Another helicopter was shot down and had to
land to the east from Karbala. Information about its crew is being obtained.
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- The overall situation in the central region of Iraq is
characterized by gradual reduction of the coalition activity and change
to active defense. But extraordinary dispersion of the ground forces, their
fragmentation (the biggest group now contains up to 12 thousand troops)
create advantageous preconditions for Iraqi counter-attacks, but the air
superiority of the coalition severely complicate such projects. If, due
to weather conditions, the coalition forces lose their air support, it
may have very dramatic consequences.
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- At the south of Iraq the British advance on Basra is
losing its strength as well and may already stop during the next two days.
Currently the British have been unable to achieve any serious success on
this direction, and fights are only occur at the outskirts of the city.
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- The British command had to admit that it had underestimated
the strength of Iraqi resistance and was unable to reveal the structure
and number of Basra defenders fully and operatively. Currently in the city
and the Fao peninsula, according to the British data, about 5 thousand
of regular Iraqi military forces are defending (parts of 51st Mechanized
Division of general Khaled Khatim Saleh al-Hashimi) and up to 5-7 thousand
volunteers and militiamen. At the same time, British hopes for an armed
Shia revolt have been ruined. The Shia leaders in Iran called their Iraqi
coreligionists to fight against English and American "satanists"
and "Zionists", leaving British without their "best card"
in the plan of capturing Basra. 3 men were killed and 8 wounded yesterday.
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- At the North of Iraq desultory fightings between Kurdish
troops "peshmerga" and Iraqi forces are going on. The morning
messages about the town Kalak captured have not been confirmed yet, and
according to the radio surveillance data the actions only take place at
the approaches of the town. For now, Kurds are mainly busy robbing neighboring
villages and transporting the stolen goods into their basic regions. According
to American special forces which have recently been replaced here, sometimes
after capturing a village up to half of the Kurdish squadron abandon their
positions. They load stolen property into captured cars and leave for their
homes to be back next morning for new salvage.
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- But apart from clear marauding of "peshmerga",
the coalition command has more and more problems with keeping the decent
moral level of their fighting soldiers. Spite and irritability are growing
even in British troops, which were always "correct enough" towards
the civilians on the occupied territories. In increasing frequency British
soldiers show violence and rudeness towards civilians. At a recent consultation
at the British HQ, a representative of the military police command pointed
at the fact that even actions of arresting people suspected in underground
activities occur with unnecessary violence and publicity, and resemble
rather intimidation than special police operations. The command issued
a special order regarding the required behavior in the occupied regions,
but even after it had been published a few analogous incidents were registered.
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- An event that had happened 5 days before also received
publicity at the coalition HQ. During a night "cleanup" in one
of suburban houses near An-Nasiriya three marines shot a man and afterwards
raped and shot his wife. The command got information about this accident
from one of its informers. After interrogation the marines were sent to
Qatar for additional investigations.
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- In increasing frequency commanders find things belonging
to Iraqis in their soldiers' rucksacks. The soldiers are discontent of
their commanders attempting to cease this practice, and call those items
"war salvage". Currently the command is preparing a special order
regarding this issue.
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- (source: iraqwar.ru, 04-05-03, translated by Necroman)
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