The U.S. Army's 3rd Division is at as Samawa, approximately 60 miles west of an Nasiriyah, according to recent reports. This potentially clashes with reports from the Pentagon, which place U.S. forces north of the Euphrates and moving north toward Baghdad. Reports indicate that the the 3rd bypassed an Nasiriyah after coming under mortar fire from the city. A similar situation seems to be developing at as Samawa.
Saturday, March 22, 2003
5:03 CST Advance elements of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division have clashed with a unit of Baath Party militia southwest of the central city of an Najaf, and a Baath party leader reportedly was killed, according to an Iraqi television report. This same 3rd ID group encountered a unit of al Quds paramilitary forces outside as Samawa earlier in the day. An Najaf is rougly 200 miles northwest of where the 3rd entered Iraq on March 20.
