An Iraqi military spokesman denied the destruction of the Baghdad division of the elite Republican Guard, as claimed by US Central Command.
"These allegations have no foundation and are part of the hostile campaign against Iraq," the spokesman told AFP. "To the contrary, the Baghdad division maintains its cohesion and has a morale of steel. It has not suffered any losses and is ready to confront the enemy and destroy it," he said Wednesday.
Earlier, Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told a press briefing in Qatar that the First Marine Expeditionary Force had attacked the Baghdad Division near Al-Kut, about 150 kilometers southeast of the Iraqi capital.
He said U.S. forces seized the strategic town of Kut and routed the Republican Guard division force that had been guarding the highway leading to Baghdad. "The Baghdad Division has been destroyed," Brooks told reporters.
Brooks said that two other Republican Guard divisions had been engaged around the city of Karbala and that coalition forces had seized control of a dam on Lake al-Milh. (Albawaba.com)
