TIKRIT, 14 April 2003 — Hundreds of US tanks backed by airstrikes launched an attack on Saddam Hussein’s last stronghold of Tikrit yesterday. Bombing raids by US planes resumed in the evening around Tikrit, the only major Iraqi town not yet in coalition hands, while witnesses said fierce fighting erupted on the outskirts of the city between die-hard Iraqi forces and US troops supported by helicopters.
Matthew Fisher, a Canadian journalist embedded with the US Marines, told CNN 250 US armored vehicles had entered the city and quoted US commander Brig. John Kelly as saying five Iraqi tanks had been destroyed on the outskirts and at least 15 people had been killed in firefights.
A spokesman for US Central Command in As-Saliyah, Qatar, said: “We have forces in Tikrit. We are actively engaging any forces we need to.” Fisher said it was “a very significant attack. They’ve brought forward a great number of Cobra assault helicopters and Marine F-18s overhead.” He said US forces had been told there appeared to be a core of about 2,500 Iraqis willing to fight, including the Republican Guards and Fedayeen.
The capture of Saddam’s traditional power base, which lies about 180 kilometers (115 miles) north of Baghdad, would mark a significant step toward the end of the three and a half weeks old conflict. The assault seemed to ignore a call by 22 tribal leaders in the city for an end to US airstrikes so a peaceful surrender of pro-Saddam militia to US forces could be negotiated.
Tribal chief Yussuf Abdul Aziz Al-Nassari said: “We are ready to surrender, but let them stop their bombardments. After that we are asking for just two days to persuade the Fedayeen to lay down their arms.”
Earlier, no Iraqi troops or militia could be seen in the center of the city, only a number of armed and angry residents, who said they wanted to prevent the looting.
As US forces entered what is expected to be the final military phase of the war, US President George W. Bush ratcheted up the pressure on Syria, fueling suspicions Washington will turn its attention next to Iraq’s neighbor to the west.
