- BAGHDAD -- US marines came
under heavy fire on Thursday from Saddam Hussein's loyalists along the
northern banks of the Tigris river, with one marine reported killed and
13 wounded, a US officer said.
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- "There were at least 13 casualties and one soldier
killed in action," said First Sergeant Jeff Treiber.
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- The marines 1st Division, 5th Regiment have captured
one of Saddam's main palace complexes on the northern side of the Tigris,
said Treiber, of the regiment's 1st battalion.
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- The marines were under fire since 02:00 (00:00 SA time)
from fighters hiding in buildings, in cars, on rooftops and beneath bridges,
an AFP correspondent on the ground saw.
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- Heavy fighting was still raging with Iraqi fighters using
AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, the correspondent said.
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- "It's a show of force, we can go where we want,"
said Treiber, adding that artillery fire could be heard outside the walls
of Saddam Hussein's Azmiyah palace.
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- Major Pete Farnum also said a nearby mosque had been
secured.
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- "There were intelligence reports the mosque was
a Saddam stronghold," Farnum said, describing the mosque as being
close to the northern banks of the Tigris.
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- "We displayed our ability to impose our will,"
he said, in reference to the marines capturing the mosque and palace.
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- A BBC correspondent said US troops had searched the mosque,
where Saddam Hussein was rumoured to be hiding.
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- http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_1345759,00.html
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