British Soldiers Surrender in Town Near Nasiriyadh: Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 22, 2003

British Soldiers Surrender in Town Near Nasiriyadh: Iraq

An unspecified number of British soldiers have surrendered in a small town near Nasiriyadh in southern Iraq, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said on Saturday.

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An unspecified number of British soldiers have surrendered in a small town near Nasiriyadh in southern Iraq, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said on Saturday.

He told a press conference that the media accounts by the US-led coalition were "misleading" and "lies" as Iraqi forces were still engaged in fighting with invading troops in and around Umm Qasr, a port in southern Iraq and the front line of the aggressors have been stopped due to resistance by Iraqi soldiers.

There was a large number of casualties on the side of the US-led forces, he said.

In the strategic Faw peninsula, the Iraqi soldiers were still in position and fighting, he said.

The Iraqi forces have also destroyed five enemy tanks and a number of military vehicles in fighting near Nasiriyadh, 360 kilometers to the south of Baghdad.

The British soldiers who have surrendered are kept with the local tribal families in the small town, according to the Iraqi minister.

Sahaf said 207 civilians, most of them women and children, were wounded in the massive US and British bombardment on Baghdad Friday night.

They were "hit in their homes" and were being treated in five hospitals around the capital, said the minister, adding that "I invite you to visit them and ask them how and where they were hurt."

On Friday evening, the United States launched heavy bombings on Baghdad and the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk with B-52 bombers and cruise missiles as part of its "shock and awe operation."

During the air strikes, US forces fired about 320 missiles at Baghdad and surrounding areas, according to Rear Admiral Matthew G.Moffit, commander of the Kitty Hawk battle group deployed in the Gulf.

Despite mounting international opposition, the United States launched its war against Iraq at 0530 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Thursday, in a bid to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

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