Word: najaf
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...Road to Death at Najaf NAJAF JIM LACEY...
...Next morning, the commander ordered his five tanks up the road towards An Najaf. The anti-mine blade on the lead tank detonated three mines as it advanced and engineers later cleared 66 more. Before the infantry started to advance, Hughes had the artillery fire a smoke screen in front of the suspected enemy positions. This was the last straw for a dozen of them, who promptly started waving white flags and walking towards American lines. A few minutes later the infantry began a cautious advance. There was no enemy fire and Hughes said, "We broke their back last night...
...senior officer also noted that Republican Guard units were moving south, perhaps because "things are getting bad in the south for them and they need to stiffen their defense." He said the local population was very near a "tipping point" toward the coalition in both Basra and Nasiriya. In Najaf, he said locals were helping coalition forces route out the paramilitaries and that locals were even physically attacking regime supporters...
...entry/exit point in the cordon, what has fast became known as Checkpoint Charlie, the troops got the first indication that the people in An Najaf welcomed their arrival. Hundreds of them passed by smiling and waving to the soldiers who remained wary nonetheless. Dozens of men approached the soldiers to offer information about the paramilitary forces inside and ask when the Americans were going into the city...
...According to the senior officer, an example of Saddam's desperation came today with the 3 rd ID at a bridge near Najaf when Republican Guard forces - he said he believed they were from the Nebuchadezzer Division - put women and children out in front of them and were shooting at U.S. forces from behind the cover of the civilians. When one woman tried to move aside, she was shot in the back and fell into the river (a U.S. solider apparently rescued her). "The regime has inflicted more casualties on its own people in the last couple days than...