U.S. Marines were searching a mosque in Baghdad close to one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces on Thursday after a firefight with Iraqi forces, a BBC correspondent said from the scene. The Marines believed Saddam might be hiding in the mosque.
A day after U.S. commanders declared that Saddam's regime no longer controlled Baghdad, one Marine was killed and several comrades were injured in a three-hour gun battle as their unit seized a palace on the northern outskirts.
"The Marines came under attack -- probably by special Republican Guard units -- as dawn broke along the Tigris river," the BBC said. "One Marine was killed in a half-hour battle."
U.S.-led forces' next targets are northern cities such as Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit, Saddam's birthplace and tribal power base, 175 km north of the capital. On Thursday, U.S. warplanes continued to bomb Tikrit.
U.S. and Kurdish forces dislodged Iraqis from a mountain used to defend Mosul, their biggest victory yet in the north. Hundreds of Kurdish fighters streamed toward the key northern oil hub of Kirkuk late on Wednesday. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
