Republican guard units on the move

Some Iraqi Republican Guard units moved south from Baghdad toward US forces that are approaching the capital, Pentagon officials said today.

It was unclear how many Iraqi soldiers were on the move or which Republican Guard units were involved, the officials said.

The movement came as elements of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division came to within 20 miles of Baghdad.

“Our guys are able to see the skyline. That’s how close we’ve gotten,” a military official said.

Meanwhile, Iraqis shot down a Black Hawk helicopter with small arms fire near Karbala, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, defence officials said. Seven soldiers were killed and four were wounded and rescued, officials said.

The Army forces had surrounded Karbala, a holy site to Shiite Muslims, on Tuesday as they broke through Republican Guard units and pushed toward Baghdad.

The US hopes to increase psychological pressure on Saddam Hussein and his inner circle as American-led forces arrive on the outskirts of Baghdad, the military official said.

Still, the Pentagon sought to lower expectations that the Iraqi capital could be taken quickly or easily.

“We are planning for a very difficult fight ahead in Baghdad,” Major General Stanley McChrystal told a Pentagon news conference. “We are not expecting to drive into Baghdad suddenly and seize it.”

Defence officials, updating the war toll, said 49 Americans had died, seven have been captured, 15 are missing and 154 have been wounded.

US military officials have weathered criticism over the past week as commanders, other Pentagon officials and outside analysts said the war effort had been slowed by unexpectedly stiff resistance and a plan that may have relied on too few troops.

Maj Gen McChrystal and department spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told reporters at least six times in a 30-minute briefing that the toughest fighting may lie ahead.

Maj Gen McChrystal said a major American offensive had pushed closer to Baghdad amid resistance from Republican Guards that was “sporadic, but not able to stop coalition manoeuvres.”

Republican Guard forces, better trained and equipped than Iraq’s regular army, were “arrayed for a defence on the southern side of Baghdad ... and on the flanks as well,” McChrystal said. “Whether they intend to defend in place or just delay is just not clear.”

It was unclear whether those Iraqi forces had some of the chemical and biological weapons that US leaders say Saddam is hiding – and whether they could or would use them.

From the start of the war, the Pentagon has hoped that with the help of invading forces the Iraqi military would surrender in great numbers and civilians might revolt.

With ground forces pressing closer to Baghdad, officials said they were hopeful that the chances of those things happening were increasing.

The assessment came after a day-long battle against Guard forces on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Though two divisions were reported to have been largely eliminated as effective fighting forces, there were four others that officials said remained somewhat intact.

Two were estimated at 70% effectiveness and two somewhat less.

Other officials said some of the Republican Guard units had started mixing together, making it nearly impossible to state where each of the divisions was based.

The last line of defence for Baghdad may be Saddam’s Special Republican Guard and Special Security Organisation.

It was not clear what damage had been done to the Special Republican Guard, for instance, a light infantry force that was estimated to have started the war with 15,000 troops.

The security organisation is basically a paramilitary force estimated at 6,000 to 8,000.