U.S. Launches Massive Offensive Against Iraq

American troops faced retaliatory fire from the Iraqis during their intensive bombardment of Baghdad on Thursday evening. A member of the U.S. military confirmed that an American unit had come under heavy Iraqi mortar fire.

An Iraqi military spokesman said on Iraqi state television on Thursday that a U.S. helicopter had been shot down as U.S. and British forces launched a major offensive against Baghdad.

"An American aircraft of the Sikorsky type used in carrying troops and equipment was downed as it was trying to infiltrate Iraqi airspace to carry out aggressive operations. Long live Iraq," the spokesman said. Reuters also reported on the first loss of the Americans in the ongoing offensive.

However U.S. military sources say the helicopter made a safe crash landing and none of the crew members were injured.

Amid the heavy shelling and firing, U.S. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers warned that the war would not be a quick one, as widely hoped and would claim casualties. "We don't take battle lightly. War is dangerous. We will face losses," he said.

The evening strikes mark the second attack in the ongoing U.S-led war against Iraq called "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and comes 16 hours after the first missile strikes in the early hours of Thursday, March 20, 2003.

Ground operations begin

U.S. military said on Thursday evening that U.S. and British forces had began a ground attack. Ground troops are reported to have begun advancing into southern Iraq at about 1800 Central European Time under cover of heavy artillery fire. Some 10,000 armored U.S. military vehicles are reported to have rolled towards southern Iraq.

Arabic television news channel, Al Jazeera said that U.S. elite forces had crossed the Iraq border. The ground offensive began as American cruise missiles slammed into the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, setting several buildings on fire. Reports say that huge explosions could be heard in the capital, Baghdad, lighting up the night sky. Television pictures showed buildings on fire and clouds of smoke rising from the heart of the city.

U.S. forces in Northern Kuwait struck southern Iraq with 2,000-lb (900-kg) bombs and missiles and fired at ground targets from helicopter gunships while Marines launched artillery into the same areas, according to a Fox news Television reporter.

U.S. Major Gen. Bufourd Blount, who confirmed that the first phase of the ground offensive had begun, said that the attack in northern Iraq led by the Third Infantry Division made use of Howitzers and rocket systems. Iraqis returned some fire but missed the Marines, who were constantly changing position in the desert.

CNN reported the U.S. First Marine Expeditionary Force had crossed from Kuwait into southern Iraq to begin securing
positions for a thrust northward by U.S. and British troops
massed in Kuwait near the border, U.S. officials said.

Blair says British troops involved in combat

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday night that its forces were fighting Iraq from air, land and sea.

"Tonight British servicemen and women are engaged from air, land and sea. Their mission: to remove Saddam Hussein from power and disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction," he said in a speech that marked his first public words on the Iraq campaign since the beginning of the war.

"Dictators like Saddam and terrorist group like al Qaeda threaten the very existence of such a world. That is why I have asked our troops to go into action tonight. Britain has never been a nation to hide at the back and even if we were, it wouldn't avail us," Blair said.

Just a few hours earlier a source had told Reuters that British military forces had joined a ground attack on Iraq. "The whole thing is kicking off tonight," the source said.

Iraqi bases targeted

Cruise missiles fired by American forces are reported to have targeted bases of the Republican Guard, Saddam's elite troops. A massive explosion was reported to have ripped apart the office of Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.

But Iraqi sources say that even non-military targets such as media and office buildings have been hit. Several Iraqi civilians are believed to have been wounded during the aerial attacks in Doura, southeast of Baghdad. The International Red Cross reported that 14 people were injured and one killed after the first wave of attacks early Thursday morning.

Iraqi state television said that the second round of attacks on Thursday night claimed the lives of four Iraqi soldiers and wounded several more. Radio Iraq reported that one of Saddam Hussein's Baghdad homes had also been attacked, though there are no reports of casualties.

A Kuwaiti news agency reported that American and British troops had taken control of the Iraqi port of Umm Quasr, 50 km south of Basra on the Kuwaiti border.

Rumsfeld says much more to come

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the initial missile and bombing attacks in and around Baghdad were just the beginning of the force that would be unleashed.

"What will follow will not be a repeat of any other conflict. It will be of a force and scope and scale that has been beyond what has been seen before," he said at a news conference.

He called upon Iraqi troops to disregard orders from Iraq's leadership. "The days of the Iraqi regime are numbered," he said. Rumsfeld also announced that three to four oil reservoirs in southern Iraq were burning.

U.S.-led strikes begin early Thursday

The U.S.-led military strike against Iraq began in the early hours of Thursday at around 3.35 a.m. Central European Time with the thunder-like crackling of missiles over the skies of Baghdad that lasted about 15 minutes. The White House said the attack marked the "opening stages" of the war to overthrow Saddam.

U.S. President Bush said that the first phase of the war would be "broad and coordinated", and that the United States and its 35-nation "coalition of the willing" would seek to avoid civilian casualties.

"American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger," He said the United States had struck "selected targets of military importance" intended to undermine Saddam's ability to wage war.

But the "decapitation" attack seemed to have missed Saddam, who appeared later on Thursday wearing a uniform and black beret on Iraqi television. Saddam called on his compatriots to resist, saying, "You will be victorious against your enemies." He derided the U.S. attack as "cowardly aggression" intended to drive him from power.

War begins after ultimatum expires

The beginning of hostilities came less than two hours after the 48-hour ultimatum that Bush gave Saddam to leave Iraq had expired. On Monday, Bush ordered Saddam and his sons to go into exile or face war. "Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict," Bush said, "commenced at a time of our choosing."

According to media reports, that time came after a four-hour meeting Bush held with CIA Director George Tenet and Pentagon officials, who told the president that he would miss a "target of opportunity" if he did not act immediately.

Taken together, the United States and Britain have deployed more than 280,000 troops to the Persian Gulf region in preparation for a war. Other countries, including Australia and Poland have also contributed a small number of troops to the war effort.

Turkey allows U.S. to use its airspace

Hours after the strikes began, Turkey's parliament voted to allow the U.S. military to use Turkish airspace for the war, giving U.S. bombers more room in which to work. The government-backed proposal will allow U.S. warplanes based in Europe or the United States to cross Turkey to strike Iraq. The United States could also use Turkish airspace to transport troops into northern Iraq or to bring supplies to the region.

But the proposal would not allow U.S. planes to use Turkish air bases or refuel in Turkey. The United States, for example, will not be able to use Incirlik air base, a sprawling facility that houses 50 U.S. fighters used to patrol a no-fly zone over Iraq.