Coalition Forces To Step Up Attacks In Coming Days

WASHINGTON -- Coalition forces plan to increase attacks against Iraqi forces in the coming hours and days.

A senior source at U.S. Central Command says forecasts indicate "pretty good weather" in the next three days.

The source says given the clearing weather, coalition forces should be stepping up their activity.

The official also confirms that coalition forces have suffered "multiple casualties" in several incidents -- but isn't giving numbers or locations.

The worst sandstorm in decades in Iraq has been stalling thousands of U.S. and British soldiers heading toward Baghdad. It's also been disrupting air missions.

U.S. Paratroopers Open Northern Front In Iraq

About 1,000 U.S. paratroopers landed in northern Iraq Wednesday, a U.S. military spokesman said, part of the American strategy of opening a northern front against Saddam Hussein's regime.

The lead elements of the U.S. Army's 173rd airborne division, which is based in Italy, went into the north Wednesday night, Lt. Col. Thomas Collins said. He said paratroopers will be joining several hundred special operations forces that already were in northern Iraq to form the corps of the U.S. military's planned attack on Baghdad from the north.

Originally, the force was to have included the Army's 4th Infantry Division. But that plan was put on hold when the United States failed to secure Turkey's approval for a pre-positioning of U.S. ground troops on Turkish soil.

Some elements of that heavy division are to start flying out of their base in Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday. They will join with their equipment, which remains on about 40 ships that had been heading to the Persian Gulf.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked about the northern deployment after a classified meeting with Bush administration officials and military officials.

"I don't know what I'd like to say about that," Rumsfeld said. "We are increasing the number of forces there every day. We are increasing them in the north. We are increasing them in the south. We are increasing them in the west."

Before the paratroopers arrived, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that there were not significant numbers of Americans in the north.

British Destroy 14 Tanks Outside Basra

British forces say they have engaged and destroyed 14 Iraqi tanks that tried to break out of the southern city of Basra Thursday morning.

Coalition aircraft and artillery pounded a convoy of about 120 Iraqi tanks and armored personnel carriers streaming out of Iraq's second-largest city.

On Tuesday, British artillery destroyed a smaller convoy of 20 Iraqi vehicles leaving Basra from the north.

British military officials say Iraqi forces have made at least three attempts to break out of Basra since Tuesday.

Group Captain Al Lockwood says British Army tanks of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards engaged the Iraqi armor in a swift battle Thursday and destroyed it.

Lockwood says the latest column came out of the city overnight, possibly to engage coalition forces.

He says the columns were manned by Iraqi soldiers being forced to fight by Saddam Hussein's loyalists holding Basra.

For the past several days, British forces have surrounded Basra, which is home to 1.3 million people. They've been exchanging fire with more than 1,000 die-hard Iraqi forces loyal to Saddam Hussein.

British sources say they're also coming to the defense of citizens who rose up in the streets against the Iraqi government Tuesday. Top Iraqi officials have denied reports of an uprising in Basra.

Coalition forces had hoped to avoid entering Basra for fear of getting bogged down in a bloody urban battle.

Patriot Missile Downs Iraqi Missile Over Kuwait

A Patriot missile shot down a missile fired at Kuwait from southern Iraq on Thursday, civilian defense officials said.

No debris was reported to have fallen on residential areas in the city.

Strategy May Be Changing

Some U.S. troops in central Iraq may be changing their strategy.

Instead of racing to Baghdad, some units are moving slower to clear out pockets of enemy fighters.

Attacks from Iraqi militias apparently prompted the shift in strategy.

One Marine colonel said the American forces are going into "hunting mode."

He said U.S. troops will stop letting enemy fighters take "cheap shots."

Amnesty International Criticizes Both Sides

Amnesty International is demanding an investigation into the deaths of civilians in Iraq.

Missiles struck heavily populated areas of Baghdad Tuesday. The Iraqis say 14 people were killed. There are also reports that U.S. missiles hit a bus full of Syrians fleeing Iraq. Both are potentially serious violations of the Geneva Convention, Amnesty officials said.

The United States says there's no proof the missiles that hit Baghdad were American. Amnesty says given U.S. claims about its sophisticated weaponry, it ought to be able to determine whether the munitions were American or not.

Amnesty also accuses Iraqi forces of shelling civilians in Basra and placing military objectives near civilians. It says there are also reports of Iraqis dressing in civilian clothes for surprise attacks on coalition troops.

Baghdad Bridges Feared Wired

Bridges in Baghdad may have been rigged with explosives in preparation for an impending U.S. invasion of the Iraqi capital, a U.S. Central Command official said Wednesday.

In a war briefing, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said the reports don't come as a surprise.

"I am not at all surprised that that would be the case. We have heard reports of bridges being rigged with demolitions in several parts of towns," Brooks said. "This reminds us that this regime would go to great lengths to protect itself."

Brooks also noted that oil-filled trenches are being set on fire around the city.

"There are now six wells that are on fire. (Tuesday) one was put out with the aid of the Kuwaiti oil company."

Republican Guard Heads Toward U.S. Troops

Elements of Iraq's elite Republican Guard are on the move.

A large contingent of the guard, including 1,000 vehicles, has been spotted heading toward U.S. Marines in central Iraq, near the city of Najaf. The area has already seen the heaviest fighting of the war.

Marine intelligence officers said the Iraqi forces are heading south from Baghdad on a route that avoids advancing U.S. Army forces.

The route leads them directly to the Marines, who have been fighting in recent days around the city of Nasiriyah.

The intelligence officers said about 3,000 Republican Guard troops were seen in one town, and 2,000 more at another.

The guard represents Saddam's most battle-ready forces.

U.S. Sees Signs Of Renewed Iraqi Military Control

Saddam's status may be uncertain but U.S. officials are convinced that the Iraqi regime is regaining some semblance of control of its military and security forces.

They said they don't know whether that leadership is provided by Saddam or by his senior chiefs. The partial revival of the command structure comes as U.S. forces close in on Baghdad.

American war strategists are proceeding on the assumption that Saddam is alive. Some in the Bush administration and in Congress think he survived last week's airstrike on a Baghdad compound where it's believed he was staying. Some evidence suggests he was wounded.

After the strike, intelligence and military officials described the Iraqi leadership as in disarray. But now, officials are seeing more coordination among Iraqi fighting forces.

U.S. Forces Brace For Tougher Ground Battles

U.S. troops have shot their way closer to Baghdad despite bad weather and heavy resistance from Iraqi fighters.

Troops of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division are now within 50 miles of the capital. A running battle near the central city of An Najaf has killed as many as 500 enemy soldiers.

Correspondent Ross Simpson, traveling with a Marine unit, saw the bodies of at least 15 enemy soldiers. He said troops are cleaning up from sandstorms and thunderstorms Tuesday before heading back up the road.

Top Pentagon officials warn there may be far greater difficulties ahead as the Army closes in on Baghdad. Rumsfeld said "scraps" of intelligence indicate that the closer U.S. forces get to the Iraqi capital the greater the danger of chemical attack.

The Pentagon discounts suggestions that U.S. troops could be overwhelmed. Myers said the U.S. military has "just the right forces" to do the job -- although more reinforcements are arriving.

State-Run TV Headquarters Attacked

They're back on the air from Baghdad. Allied forces had attacked the state-run television headquarters in Baghdad before dawn Wednesday with missiles and other airstrikes, hoping to cripple the Iraqi regime's communications.

The station's international satellite signal was knocked off the air for a few hours before it was restored.

The regular domestic television broadcasts started on schedule after daybreak.

U.S. military officials said the strikes not only targeted the televison center, but also government communications and satellite links at several sites in the capital.

Smoke was seen next to the information ministry and the Iraqi TV building.

There's been no sign of Al-Shabab television, the station owned by Saddam's son. That station is usually transmitted from the state TV building.