April 5 – Saturday
Baghdad
Iraqi civilians (Iraqi estimates) -- 1,252 killed, 5,103 injured – Reuters
U.S. calls in aircraft to strike Iraqis on edge of airport
U.S. says Iraq orders in Republican Guard from south of the capital
U.S. troops entered Baghdad for the first time on Saturday. Iraq denied any U.S. forces were in Baghdad and said it had driven the Americans from the airport. Reuters correspondent drove freely around the city later in the day saw no sign of U.S. forces in areas he visited. - Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Reuters in Baghdad
Iraq has denied that US-led troops are closing in and has said that the troops at the airport are on an "isolated island" - Al Jazeera English
U.S. says 320 Iraqi soldiers killed in battle for Baghdad airport. Iraqi authorities give no figures for military losses in war. – Reuters
BBC Andrew Gilligan :: 0510GMT Bombing has continued right into the morning, quite heavily. The Americans may be at the gates but the Iraqis appear to have left the gates open.
BBC Rageh Omaar :: 0715GMT We haven't heard any firing, we haven't heard any bombardment in the centre of the city
BBC Andrew Gilligan :: 0805GMT We are in the centre of Baghdad, as close as you can get, and we see no US troops. But there has been small arms or artillery fire to the south and south-west of us in the last few.
BBC Andrew Gilligan :: 0832GMT There's a battle going on or has gone on in the suburb of Yarmuk, about four miles from us towards the airport. In the centre the first Iraqi artillery has been seen in this whole conflict. We have now seen three truckloads of Iraqi troops and two large howitzers pass us in the last 15 minutes.
BBC Andrew Gilligan :: 0854GMT US spokesmen say they have reached central Baghdad, they are claiming it's more than a patrol. But in this part of the centre we've seen no sign of the Americans. The US has a history of premature claims in this conflict.
BBC Paul Wood :: 0854GMT There are rumours that American troops are at the university buildings, we've not seen any of that.
BBC Andrew Gilligan :: 0914GMT On the southern outskirts of the city, witnesses have seen three or four burnt out Iraqi anti-personnel carriers although Iraqi forces are still in the area according to these witnesses and the Americans are not to be seen.
BBC 0930: Iraqi information minister denies that US troops have entered central Baghdad and says American forces have been expelled from the city's main airport.
BBC 1100: US Central Command says its incursions into urban Baghdad are "rolling patrols" to maintain a presence in Baghdad - but not necessarily to occupy territory.
BBC Andrew Gilligan :: 1104GMT Groups of journalists have now fanned out in all directions across the city and we have not seen any Americans. Civilian vehicles had their windows shot out. Civilian causalities were taken into one hospital. I did see some Iraqi tanks inside the city for the first time.
BBC Rageh Omaar :: 1155GMT It is a very big mystery as to what has happened to the Republican Guard, we just haven't seen them
BBC Paul Wood :: 1304GMT US raid looks like a probe by a reconnaissance unit that met no resistance and kept going. I've just been for an hours drive around the city we couldn't see any sign of US forces.
BBC 1540: Iraqi Information Minister denies reports of a US raids into Baghdad and says pictures of the fighting are not shots of the city's outskirts, but of the district near the airport.
BBC Andrew Gilligan :: 1608GMT Gates of Baghdad remain open there are no checkpoints. The Americans could come in by bus if they wanted, the buses are still running from the suburbs.

An armored tank battalion of 60 tanks and vehicles from the 64th Armored Regiment of the Third Infantry Division's Second Brigade entered Baghdad, triggering a rolling firefight along boulevards lined with some people waving, and others shooting. General Renuart described the path by saying the column entered from south on the main highway that skirts the tight bend in the Tigris River that forms the Karada district of the city. The attack left at least hundreds of Iraqi fighters dead and was intended to show the residents of Baghdad that the Army and Marines could attack at will. One American tank driver was killed and six other soldiers wounded. American commanders on the scene estimated that more than 1,000 Iraqis were killed. Later, officers at Central Command in Doha, Qatar, put the number at 2,000 to 3,000. There was no explanation for the variance. The tanks were gone by midafternoon. The Regiment returned later to its staging area on the southern perimeter of Baghdad via a different, more secure route that avoided the city center entirely. – Patrick Tyler, New York Times in Doha, Qatar

U.S. military said as many as 20 tanks and 10 Bradleys came up the southern highway through Baghdad's Dawra suburb about 12-14 kilometres from the city centre before swinging west and linking up with troops at the airport. They are trying to cut off Highway 8. – Reuters correspondent Luke Baker, travelling with the 3rd Infantry Division , reported by Al Jazeera English
The Iraqi Information Minister stated that the Republican Guard is in full control and had crushed the Americans. He claimed to have pushed them outside the whole area of the airport and that the "whole trend" of the military campaign had changed in Baghdad's favor. – Patrick Tyler, New York Times in Doha, Qatar
[There is a good aerial photgraph of the likely route of this battalion at the New York Times – Ed.]

3rd Infantry and SW of Baghdad
South of Baghdad, a U.S. officer said first tests of a white powder found in thousands of boxes showed it was not a chemical weapon. Colonel John Peabody told Reuters most of it appeared to be the nerve gas antidote atropine, and another chemical. – Reuters
US commanders moved to beef up their presence overnight at the airport, calling in soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and the 94th battalion to reinforce the 3rd Infantry Division – Al Jazeera English
BBC 0430: Up to eight US Abrams tanks begin reconnaissance mission in the southern outskirts of Baghdad, making furthest land advance yet into the capital.
BBC 0700: Reports of a series of very loud explosions in the south-western outskirts of Baghdad, which was subjected to continuous heavy bombing all night.
BBC 0800: US forces say they have captured the headquarters of the Republican Guard's Medina Division, south of Baghdad.
A suicide bomber has attacked U.S. army soldiers at Baghdad international airport, a U.S. Marine gunnery sergeant said on Saturday. U.S. Central Command in Qatar said it was not aware of a new suicide attack at the airport. – New York Times [Note that the Marines are to the SE of Baghdad while the army is holding the airport. – Ed.]
BBC 1000: Western correspondents attached to the US mechanised infantry division at Baghdad airport say heavy fighting has been taking place as units move against Iraqi defenders on the highways leading to south-west Baghdad.
BBC 1110: Iraq's claim to have retaken Baghdad's main airport is "groundless", US Central Command says.
BBC Doha, Qatar :: Michael Voss :: 1136GMT Military sources say army units are believed to have moved beyond the airport securing the north eastern approach to the city.
BBC 1215: US Central Command in Qatar declares Baghdad airport secure
BBC Doha, Qatar :: Jonathan Marcus :: 1324GMT We are told that a runway on the civilian side of the airport could be ready for operation relatively soon.

1st Marine Division and SE of Baghdad
Marines enter Aziziyah to fight Saddam loyalists. Instead they saw hundreds of young men heading away from the capital, apparently deserting the Iraqi army. Senior officials of Saddam's Baath Party had fled the town, residents said. Cheering Iraqis handed out soft drinks and offered cigarettes. - Sean Maguire, Reuters with US Marines
BBC 0020: ABC News reporter says seven civilians, including three children, died when US marines fired at two lorries that refused to stop at a checkpoint south of Baghdad.
BBC 0200: Three large explosions rock the south-eastern outskirts of Baghdad, Reuters said.
BBC 0400: Two US marine pilots have been killed when their AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter crashed in central Iraq early on Saturday morning,
BBC David Willis :: 0516GMT A battalion of US marines unleash artillery fire on a about 150 Iraqi fighters a few miles ahead on the road leading into Baghdad - round after round until there was no sign of life ahead. In the night the marines encountered incoming fire and responded in kind. The Republican Guard has set up positions all the way along the Tigris River, but the battles have been one-sided.
BBC David Willis :: 1614GMT We're on the outskirst of Badgdad with the Marines, about 20 miles from the city. There was persistent resistance from the Iraqis, especially overnight. From the artillery fire I've heard today there is fighting ahead of the camp we are currently in.

North of Baghdad
U.S. says has established effective control of roads between Baghdad and Tikrit

Northern Iraq and Kurdistan
U.S. forces moved closer to Mosul after a day of American air strikes on Iraqi frontlines. Reuters team passed a 20-vehicle convoy carrying around 100 U.S. soldiers three miles from the village of Kalak. Reuters saw a 10-vehicle convoy on the move in the Kurdish-controlled city of Arbil, about 20 miles to the east of Kalak. - Reuters
BBC Dumeetha Luthra :: 0915GMT B52 bomb Iraqi bunkers about 10 kilometres from Mosul. Kurdish fighters have been reinforcing areas vacated by retreating Iraqi forces. About 500 Kurdish troops are now along the front line. Yesterday there was heavy fighting, with special forces providing logistical support. There has been a flurry of troop movement in Kurdistan, with more military hardware being brought forward.

Karbala
U.S. troops staged a ground and air assault on Kerbala. Helicopter-borne troops of the 101st Airborne Division landed on the western edge of town and moved in beside a tank battalion with Apache attack helicopters. Iraqi paramilitary forces fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades from rooftops. - Kieran Murra, Reuters with 101st Airborne

Southern Iraq, Nasiriyah and Basra
British troops edge into Basra, kill eight militiamen.
BBC Hilary Andersson :: 0614GMT This morning, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have left their positions on one of the bridges to the west of Basra and have gone into the city. They carried out a search of some of the houses there where they suspect Ba'ath party members are hiding out. They have made some arrests and they have pulled back to their original position.
BBC Hilary Andersson :: 0820GMT The British, have tried to kill Chemical Ali, the man in charge of Iraq's military in southern Iraq. out in. Aeroplanes have struck missiles into a specific group of buildings where he was thought to be hiding. That was followed up with artillery fire.
BBC Hilary Andersson :: 1158GMT We have had no confirmation of earlier reports that up to 1,000 paramilitaries are attempting to surrender in Basra.
BBC Kylie Morris :: 1349GMT As many as two-hundred coffins were found in an army barracks between Basra and Az Zubayr. Royal Horse Artillery found the bodies when they were carrying out a security check. One officer says that he believes the people had been dead for several years and had no connection to the current conflict.
BBC Kuwait City :: Ryan Dilley :: 1403GMT At Umm Qasr hospital, two doctors are treating 300 patients each day in a building which has not been supplied with water for more than four days. Despite the British bringing in bottled water and fitting a pipeline, Save the Children was told that water is being sold to the local people at a price few can afford.
A leading Arab newspaper, Asharq al-Awsat, reported that Saddam loyalists in Basra are seeking to surrender to British. Baath Party leaders in the city passed a message to a Shia cleric saying they were afraid of reprisals from the citizens of Basra and wanted to arrange a surrender if Baghdad fell. – Al Jazeera English
BBC Nasiriya :: Adam Mynott :: 1056GMT US Marines deliver clean water
Iraqis in Naisiriyah say they were ill-treated by the US and British troops. The Iraqis complained that the troops had showed insensitivity towards Arab traditions. They put their hands on the bodies of the women as they search them. There are gangs that are looting the colleges and universities. – Al Jazeera English

Western Iraq
West of Iraq has not been reported by embedded journalists or by the media, yet it is believed that the land between Jordan and Mudaysis airfield, 273 kilometres to the east, has been removed from Saddam Hussein’s control by special forces troops. – Al Jazeera English

Kuwait and Elsewhere
British Home Secretary, David Blunkett admitted on Saturday that no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction may after all be found. He added in the same breath that he would in any case rejoice the “fall” of Saddam Hussein and his regime - regardless of whether any weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq or not. – Al Jazeera English
“Some of the biggest losses we have taken are due to Iraqis committing serious violations of the law of armed conflict and the Geneva Conventions, by dressing as civilians and luring us into surrender situations and opening fire on our troops,” General Richard Myers, Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters days into the invasion of Iraq. But he seemed to be taken by surprise when an American journalist asked him to comment on the the fact that sections of the US-led force routinely operate out of uniform. His response was one of pregnant silence, as if struck by the reminder that US-led special forces are working in Iraq without uniform. – Al Jazeera English
Picture - US Army special forces in Arab dress, already near the city of Najaf in cental Iraq only one day after the start of the war – Al Jazeera English [The picture is one I remember of the 3rd infantry in uniform. One is wearing an Arab headscarf. – Ed.]