US and British special forces slipped into Baghdad during a blackout and have launched covert operations, including an assessment of the threat posed by Iraq's elite Republican Guard, the British press said Friday.
The electricity cut at around 9:00 pm local time on Thursday coincided with a major incursion by SAS and American special forces personnel into the Iraqi capital, newspapers in London said.
The Guardian, quoting military sources in Qatar, said that dozens of British and American special forces teams poured into Baghdad after the power went down. "Power went off in most of Baghdad for the first time since the start of the conflict, as military sources said that special forces were active in the city," said The Financial Times.
According to The Daily Telegraph, US aircraft had dropped "blackout" bombs on to the main power supply lines plunging the capital into complete darkness. The move enabled "the SAS and its US Delta Force counterparts to enter the city unimpeded," the newspaper said, allowing them to look for the Republican Guard. (Albawaba.com)
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