KARBALA, Iaq, April 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Backed by a fleet of Black Hawks, Apaches and Chinooks, the U.S. 101st Airborne Division launched an air assault Saturday, April 5, on the central Iraqi town of Karbala, U.S. military officials said.

The fleet of U.S. warplanes were involved in transporting soldiers into the outskirts of Karbala, Mike Slocum, the 101st Aviation Brigade's watch officer, told Agnence France-Presse (AFP).

"Basically they are on the ground to go through and secure the highways and supply routes, and also they are looking to squelch any paramilitary threat in the area," he told AFP correspondent on the ground.

The Third Infantry Division engaged and apparently destroyed heavy armoured units of the Republican Guard around Karbala, and Slocum said the 101st Airborne Division was expecting to meet lighter paramilitary forces.

He said the push on Karbala was part of a broader campaign for the 101st to capture cities that the Third Infantry Division went through or passed in their lightning move on Baghdad.

"We will continue to go north," Slocum said.

He claimed the helicopter gunships encountered little resistance and that the infantry troops would seize the outside of the city before moving in.

Slocum said the assault on the major Shiite Muslim town -- less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad -- was similar to the just completed campaign in An-Najaf (lies a further 80km southwest of Karbala) which he described as successful.

He forecast a similar mission in Karbala to the battle for An-Najaf, which involved U.S. soldiers going house-to-house in a bid to find forces loyal to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Slocum claimed that many other paramilitary forces sought shelter in mosques and other religious sites, making it extremely difficult for U.S. soldiers to target their enemy.

"Infantrymen and pilots were on the alert not to damage or destroy mosques and other religiously significant sites in Karbala," he said.

Slocum reported that U.S. forces were prepared for an even tougher assignment in Karbala, despite the Third Infantry Division clearing much of the path for them.

"Obviously Karbala is much larger than An-Najaf, therefore intelligence is there is a larger paramilitary force there," he said.

An-Najaf and Karbala are two of the most important cities for Iraq's majority Shiite population.