- Title: IRAQ: U.S. GROUND TROOPS ARE MOVED CLOSER TO FRONTLINE POSITIONS IN NORTHERN IRAQ
- Date: 4th April 2003
- Summary: (W4) ON THE ROAD TO AL-QAYYARAH AND 15 KM SOUTHWEST OF ARBIL, IRAQ (NORTH) (APRIL 4, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. WS: CONVOY OF U.S. MILITARY VEHICLES ON THE ROAD AWAY FROM ARBIL HEADING SOUTHWEST 0.14 2. VARIOUS OF CONVOY ON THE MOVE, U.S. SOLDIERS MANNING HEAVY MACHINE GUNS ON TOP OF VEHICLES (2 SHOTS) 0.27 3. LV: CONVOY TURNING OFF ROAD AND HEADING SOUTHWEST 0.45 4. MV'S: U.S. SOLDIERS ON SIDE OF ROAD PROVIDING SECURITY FOR CONVOY (2 SHOTS) 0.56 5. VARIOUS OF U.S. SOLDIERS AT BUILDING NEAR ROAD JUNCTION, SECURING POSITION AND PROVIDING COVER FOR CONVOY (3 SHOTS) 1.13 6. VARIOUS OF CONVOY HEADING TOWARDS KURDISH MILITIA POST (3 SHOTS) 1.47 7. VARIOUS: U.S. SOLDIERS AND VEHICLES AT KURDISH MILITIA POST (4 SHOTS) 2.24 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 19th April 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ON THE ROAD TO AL-QAYYARAH AND 15 KM SOUTHWEST OF ARBIL, IRAQ (NORTH)
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA3HFFPNR3O4YE36TK4CMMMRT8Z
- Story Text: U.S. ground troops have been moved closer to frontline
positions in the north of Iraq, in a zone close to the Kurdish
free area and government controlled territory.
On Friday (April 4, 2003), a Reuters Television cameraman saw
heavily armed U.S. soldiers aboard some 20 vehicles head in
convoy formation in a south-westerly direction out of the city
of Arbil, in Kurdish controlled northern Iraq.
An advance unit of the U.S. contingent secured the route
for the convoy which eventually arrived at a Kurdish militia
base southwest of Arbil and some 15 km away from Iraqi army
positions.
The deployment follows heavy fighting in the last two days
by U.S. special forces and Kurdish militias against Iraqi army
units that withdrew to new positions 40 km west of Arbil,
beyond the Kurdish frontier village of Kalak.
Those Iraqi positions have also been bombed from the air by
coalition aircraft. Heavy aerial bombardment was going on in
the area 5 km west of Kalak on Friday morning.
Kurdish militias have so far blocked access for journalists
to the area, citing heavy fighting and Iraqi retaliatory
shelling of the U.S. and Kurdish positions.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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