By Gerry J. Gilmore<br />American Forces Press Service<br /><br />WASHINGTON, March 29, 2003 -- Five U.S. 3rd Infantry<br />Division soldiers were killed in Iraq today by an apparent<br />suicide bomber at a road checkpoint near Najaf.<br /><br />"That kind of activity, I think, is something that is a<br />symbol of an organization that's beginning to get a little<br />bit desperate," Air Force Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart, a U.S.<br />Central Command spokesman, noted to reporters.<br /><br />Senior officials at the command's forward headquarters in<br />Qatar discussed this and other news with reporters covering<br />Operation Iraqi Freedom.<br /><br />U.S. and coalition troops are trained to look out for such<br />terrorist-type tactics like suicide bombers, Renuart noted.<br />Yet, he acknowledged, there are a lot of civilians among<br />Iraq's 24 million people.<br /><br />"There is a fair amount of civilian traffic (in Iraq) that<br />we just have to be cautious with," the two-star said,<br />adding that he offered his condolences to the deceased<br />troops' families.<br /><br />U.S. and coalition military operations in and around Iraq<br />are continuing without pause, he said.<br /><br />Allied forces are busy patrolling, bombing targets to<br />further degrade Saddam Hussein's communications system, and<br />conducting raids, he pointed out. In fact, Renuart said, a<br />raid was conducted last night against one of Hussein's<br />Republican Guard divisions arrayed near Baghdad.<br /><br />"We conducted a helicopter deep-attack mission last night<br />with a number of our Apache helicopters into an element of<br />the Medina Division," he explained. The raid "was a very<br />successful attack," Renuart asserted, citing "a number of<br />tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces,<br />multipurpose vehicles, and mobile surface-to-air missile<br />radars were destroyed."<br /><br />All the raid personnel and aircraft returned to base, he<br />said, noting two choppers had mechanical problems.<br /><br />And, "we're moving supplies up to units," Renuart<br />continued. Attacks on the coalition's 250-mile-long supply<br />line by irregular Iraqi forces are becoming less frequent<br />and are mounted by fewer enemy troops, he added.<br /><br />However, an Iraqi missile apparently eluded Kuwait City's<br />missile-defense radar system and damaged a shopping center,<br />Renuart said. U.S. and coalition troops, he noted, are<br />searching for possible launch sites.<br /><br />"We have a number of forces (searching) on the Al Faw<br />Peninsula," the general said. "I couldn't tell you that<br />they've been into every single farmhouse that there may be<br />out there. It's certainly possible that someone could have<br />hidden equipment that we may not have been aware of."<br /><br />"I do know that the land component commander is<br />investigating areas where this (missile) may have come<br />from," Renuart concluded.<br /><br />_______________________________________________________<br />NOTE: This is a plain text version of a web page. If your e-mail program<br />did not properly format this information, you may view the story at<br />
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