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Smoke
billows from a bombardment of Tikrit, Iraq’s last stronghold
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TIKRIT,
Iraq, April 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Following
fierce air strikes and onslaughts by hundreds of U.S. tanks on ousted
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s last stronghold of Tikrit, U.S.
forces finally controlled Monday, April 14, the center of Saddam’s
hometown.
Five
armoured vehicles were deployed in one of the main squares of the
town. It was not immediately clear if the soldiers were U.S. marines
or infantry, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The
U.S. forces confronted no resistance as the town was deserted of Iraqi
regular troops and much of its 100,000 population. But a handful of
Tikritis emerged from their homes to catch a glimpse of the U.S.
troops.
U.S.
helicopters dropped soldiers in a central square near the headquarters
of Saddam's Fedayeen militia, again encountering no resistance,
witnesses in central Tikrit said.
Outside
the city centre, witnesses reported gunfire as residents warded off
looters, but there was no immediate confirmation.
Several
tanks took up positions around Saddam's palace in the town and on the
main street.
Earlier,
witnesses said "around 20 tanks" entered the city centre
along the main road from Kirkuk, further north, across a heavily
bomb-damaged bridge over the River Tigris, the witnesses said.
Control
of the Kirkuk road, in effect, gives U.S. troops access to their
forces deployed in the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq.
Throughout
the night, U.S. jets carried out intermittent air strikes to the south
and west of Saddam's traditional power base, where loyalist defence
lines were said to have been concentrated.
The
U.S. assault apparently ignored an appeal Sunday from 22 Tikrit tribal
leaders for an end to coalition strikes on Tikrit so a peaceful
surrender there could be negotiated.
"We
are ready to surrender, but let them stop their bombardments. After
that we are asking for just two days to persuade the fedayeen to lay
down their arms," Yussuf Abdul Aziz al Nassari, representing the
tribal leaders, told AFP.
An
official announcement of the fall of Tikrit would signal the symbolic
end of Saddam's regime in the U.S.-led war launched
on March 20. Tikrit was the last major town not under the control of
coalition forces.
Tikrit
lies about 180 kilometres (115 miles) north of Baghdad and was
considered the last major town not under control of the U.S.-led
forces.
