Iraq Satellite Jamming
Devices Destroyed
March 25, 2003 10:03 AM EST
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He also pointed out on an intelligence
photo that Iraq had hidden a MiG fighter in a cemetery next to an airfield.
Renuart warned Iraqi civilians to stay away from military formations and buildings used by Saddam Hussein's regime and its leaders. He also advised them to keep off the roads to limit casualties. "It's very difficult to guarantee their safety on this battlefield," Renuart said. "I continue to remind the people of Iraq that the battlefield extends across the country now," he said. "We have forces in all areas of the country. It's not really safe for Iraqis to drive, to try to flee danger. It's really much safer for them to remain in their houses." Asked about Iraqi casualties, including children who had been hospitalized as a result of U.S. attacks, Renuart said: "It is a tragedy to see the children that are injured." "Warfare, even its most precise fashion, is not absolute. There are errors that occur," he said. Renuart said coalition forces were building prisoner of war camps for the Iraqi prisoners which U.S. officials have estimated to number more than 3,000. He said the International Committee of the Red Cross would have full access to the camps. Renuart said Marines fighting Iraqi army and Saddam Fedayeen militia around the southern city of An Nasiriyah "did suffer some casualties," but he refused to give numbers or other details until families were told. "I'd like to not confirm numbers because we are still assuring that proper notification has been done," Renuart said. He also could not be specific about Iraqi killed or wounded. "I really could not tell you. A lot of our airstrikes are in places we don't not have military forces to actually do that kind of accounting work so it would be unfair of me to make any assessment of Iraqi casualties." Renuart said key targets on the battlefield were surface-to-surface missiles and the Iraqi elite troops of the Republican Guard. Asked about weapons of mass destruction, he said coalition forces were checking a number of sites that had been the subject of concern in the past, but there had been no confirmation of banned weapons having been found. "We continue to interview key leaders we've detained on the battlefield and we're developing that information to lead us to more sites," he said. He accused Iraqi forces, especially the Fedayeen militia, of "terrorizing neighborhoods" and using civilians as human shields. "Human shields are a cowardly way to act on the battlefield," Renuart said. "I'm comfortable that we will not put our troops in the position where we would disregard the safety of any noncombatants." |