US assert control of airport

US armoured units backed by warplanes fought building by building to clear Iraqi forces from Baghdad’s airport today.

The US military said 320 Iraqi soldiers had been killed in fighting for the airport, according to reports.

Dozens of Iraqi troop carriers, trucks and anti-aircraft guns had been captured or destroyed.

Meanwhile, a US spokesman at Central Command said about 2,500 Republican Guards had surrendered to US forces overnight, according to reports.

“Just last night there was a (military) report of about 2,500 soldiers of the Baghdad division surrendering, stripping off their uniforms,” Capt Frank Thorp said in Qatar.