US Marines Enter Heart of Saddam's Hometown

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 14, 2003

US Marines Enter Heart of Saddam's Hometown

U.S. Marines backed by tanks seized control of the heart of Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit on Monday after an intense firefight with diehard loyalists, Reuters reported.

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U.S. Marines backed by tanks seized control of the heart of Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit on Monday after an intense firefight with diehard loyalists, Reuters reported.

Al-Jazeera television broadcast live pictures of Marines walking through Tikrit, the last major center left to fall to U.S.-led forces in the 26-day war, as tanks took up position in a central square.

"The town is completely closed, nobody is on the streets except for the Marines," Jazeera's reporter in the town, Youssef al-Sharif, told Reuters.

Some 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, Tikrit was guarded by units of the Iraqi Republican Guard but, as in other battles during the war, their defenses crumbled in the face of fierce bombardment from fighter jets and attack helicopters.

However, military officials at war headquarters in Qatar warned it could take time to secure the northern town, where some people believe top Iraqi leadership might be hiding -- including the elusive Saddam himself.

Source: Agencies

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US Marines Engaging Saddam Loyalists in Tikrit

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