U.S. troops attacked Baghdad's international airport Thursday night after pushing through the outskirts of the capital.
Tracer rounds, anti-aircraft fire and artillery blasted near Saddam International Airport, 16 kms southwest of the city center. Planes blasted targets in and around the city.
Saddam International Airport is located west of central Baghdad, adjacent to the Radwaniyah presidential site, which served as Saddam's main residence.
Earlier Thursday, a group of reporters was taken there after Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, in his daily briefing, dismissed as lies unconfirmed reports that circulated in Baghdad about a US landing there.
According to some reports, dozens of Iraqis, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in the village of Furat near Baghdad airport on Thursday evening in what witnesses said was a U.S. rocket strike. A Reuters reporter said more than 120 people were wounded in the attack on the village, which lies between the airport and the Iraqi capital. Iraqi officials put the total death toll at 83, but it could not be independently confirmed.
Meanwhile, large sections of Baghdad lost power for the first time since the war began after huge explosions rocked the capital. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, however, the U.S. Central Command has not targeted the city's power grid. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
