Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 2, 1991 TAG: 9102020260
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KHAFJI, SAUDI ARABIA LENGTH: Medium
The Iraqis' battlefield behavior and the special forces' markings on their uniforms suggested that these were not the ordinary teen-age conscripts that many Kuwaitis said flooded their country after the Aug. 2 invasion.
The fact that they struck at night also dented two myths: that the Iraqis preferred static positions and were uncomfortable working after sundown.
U.S. Marines backed up Saudi and Qatari troops who besieged Khafji in a two-day battle to drive out the Iraqi invaders. By Friday, the Marines were down to mopping-up operations south of Khafji; the thud of artillery from the north carried word of the battle that continued between other coalition forces and the retreating Iraqis.
"They were well-disciplined and good troops," Cpl. Jeff Brown, 21, of Cincinnati, said of the Iraqis. Other Marines agreed.
The arsenal that Iraqi troops brought to the town, including surface-to-air missiles and other anti-aircraft guns, pointed to their strength. So did the sophisticated tactics that caught incoming coalition forces in ambushes.
"We've been shelling them pretty hard for a couple hours now, and they are not going anywhere. They are fighting pretty hard, as if they want to stay," Capt. Kevin Monahan said at one point during the fighting Thursday.
Initial reports that the Iraqi forces were just on a probing mission quickly broke down after they infiltrated the city and used a high water tower to place a forward observer to rain artillery on coalition forces outside the city.
Reporters with the Marine pool taken into the city Friday said there was abundant evidence that the Iraqis put up a strong fight - two dead Saudis remained in the blackened wreckage of their vehicle. Officers said the Saudis had suffered heavy losses.
U.S. soldiers hiding out in the city through Thursday also said they had heard the Iraqi troops laughing and joking during the night.
The Marines said at least 10 U.S.-style school buses had passed early Friday full of Iraqi prisoners of war. Markings on their uniforms indicated they were from the special forces units.
The Marines also said an Iraqi special forces commando was seized moving southwest out of the city on Friday.
In Riyadh, the Saudi capital, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Pat Stevens said the Iraqi losses in the town included seven tanks and nine armored vehicles destroyed, and at least 500 prisoners of war.
Although they expressed respect for the Iraqis, the Marines said they wouldn't mind if the Iraqis came over the border again.
"We'd rather have them come to us than we go in there and try to force them out," said Sgt. Lyle Sam, 34, of Elko, Nev.
by CNB