Coalition Ground Forces Are Engaged on Multiple Fronts 100 Kilometers from Baghdad - 2003-03-30

Coalition ground forces are engaged on multiple fronts 100 kilometers from Baghdad, according to General Tommy Franks, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq. In a press conference today in Qatar, General Franks denied any pause in the advance of American forces toward the Iraqi capital. He stated that the attacks have so far been accompanied by significant progress, but he could not say when they would conclude. Concurrently with General Franks' press conference in Qatar, heavy bombing of military and communication centers resumed in Baghdad and its outskirts. The special forces of the Iraqi Republican Guard are now responsible for securing the entry points to Baghdad. Meanwhile, both U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks denied a report from an American magazine that claimed Rumsfeld had forced military commanders to start the war with a relatively small ground force. Rumsfeld, speaking in Washington, said that Iraqi resistance in specific areas has been quite intense. Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told reporters in Baghdad today that Iraqi forces have shot down at least one American helicopter and killed two pilots. The U.S. Department of Defense stated it has no information regarding any missing helicopters. Additionally, Taha Yassin Ramadan, the Iraqi Vice President, threatened American forces with further attacks, similar to a suicide bombing that resulted in the deaths of four American soldiers in central Iraq yesterday. In southern Iraq, British forces report progress in their efforts to capture Basra, Iraq's second-largest city. A British military spokesman stated that their commandos have captured an Iraqi general and killed a colonel of the Republican Guard during a battle in the outskirts of Basra.