Existing comment:
Saddam Loyalists Resist Furiously:
The 3rd Infantry Division began its planned drive to Baghdad, and it soon captured international attention. Led by the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, the 3rd Infantry Division advanced toward the capital. It confronted and overcame a variety of threats, including conventional and unconventional forces. The former, however, diminished as the Iraqi army disintegrated. Resistance therefore fell to a mix of militia and paramilitary organizations loyal to Saddam Hussein. The Saddam Fedayeen proved the most determined of these groups, often utilizing suicide tactics. Iraqi fighters routinely used civilian vehicles to carry them into combat. American soldiers dubbed such transport the "poor man's HMMWV." Many of these civilian vehicles attempted to ram American combat vehicles and were destroyed. Iraqi resistance often occurred in the form of ambushes with small arms, rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), and mortars. These attacks often occurred at close range with little warning. |