US troops cross 'red line'

Advancing on Baghdad from both the south-west and the south-east, US troops battled Republican Guard units today and some reports put them within 20 miles of the Iraqi capital.

On chemical warfare alert – after crossing the ‘red line’ beyond which the Iraqi’s are feared to be prepared to use illegal weapons – marines punched through another Guard division, moving within 40 miles of Baghdad.

South of capital, lead elements of the 3rd Infantry Division pushed through a gap near Karbala after a night-long bombardment of the Shiite holy city 50 miles from Saddam’s Hussein’s seat of power.

East of Karbala, Marines moved within 40 miles of Baghdad, after battling the Baghdad Division of the Republican Guard and seizing an important bridge over the Tigris River near the city of Kut, said Navy Captain Frank Thorp, a Central Command spokesman.

There were no reports of American casualties.

“The Baghdad Division no longer exists and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is moving on,” Thorp said.