Up to 750 Iraqis die in Najaf battle
Reports claim up to 750 Iraqi troops have been killed in battles with US forces near the Iraqi city of Najaf.
Pentagon officials last night had put the figure lower, saying US Army forces killed between 150 and 500 Iraqi troops in a fierce fight after elements of the 7th Cavalry Regiment came under attack near the central Iraqi city of Najaf.
The reports of 150 to 500 Iraqi casualties appeared to be in addition to the 500 Iraqi fighters killed in the last two days by the US 3rd Infantry Division’s tanks and mechanised units as they swept through the south of the country.
No US casualties have so far been reported.
The US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division has advanced to within about 50 miles of Baghdad, with the Medina armoured division of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard in its path.
Elements of the 1st Marine Division are approaching the capital from a more easterly direction, and some analysts believe the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, now in southern Iraq, will join the battle for Baghdad.
