Battle goes on for Hindiyah

Trading fire with Iraqis hidden behind brick walls and hedges, US troops spearheading the drive on Baghdad battled their way into Hindiyah today, capturing dozens of members of Saddam Hussein’s elite Republican Guard.

The fierce street-by-street fighting at the key River Euphrates crossing was the war’s closest known battle to Baghdad, only 50 miles away.

At least 20 Iraqi troops were reported killed and dozens captured in the skirmishes between the sacred city of Karbala and the ruins of ancient Babylon.

The prisoners told the Americans they belonged to the Republican Guard’s Nebuchadnezzar Brigade, based in Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit, and they had the guard’s triangular insignia on their uniforms.

An armoured unit of the US 3rd Infantry Division rolled into the town of 80,000 people at dawn and was quickly met by small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from the Iraqis.

One US soldier was wounded in the leg.

On the south-east side of a concrete and steel bridge across the dark-green Euphrates, the US soldiers took up positions in abandoned bunkers and sandbags and traded fire with Iraqis on the other side.

As the Americans began to cross the bridge, Iraqi troops tried to block it with civilian cars.