2,500 Republican Guards surrender: US Central Command
About 2,500 Iraqi Republic Guards have surrendered Kut and Baghdad to the coalition forces, said the US Central Command said today.
The surrender apparently occurred after clashes of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and the Republican Guard's Baghdad Division, said Navy Capt Frank Thorp, spokesman at the Central Command.
Associated Press quoted him as saying that the Central Command had only received the report from the Marines on the ground and couldn't confirm it outright.
About 2,500 Iraqi Republic Guards have surrendered Kut and Baghdad to the coalition forces, said the US Central Command said today.
The surrender apparently occurred after clashes of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and the Republican Guard's Baghdad Division, said Navy Capt Frank Thorp, spokesman at the Central Command.
Associated Press quoted him as saying that the Central Command had only received the report from the Marines on the ground and couldn't confirm it outright.
"We have reports of approximately 2,500 soldiers of the Iraqi Republican Guard laying down their arms in their confrontation with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force," he said, citing reports from the Marines.
He said those who showed a propensity to fight would become prisoners of war, while others who have shown they do not want to fight will be allowed to return home.
US Central Command has said it has more than 4,500 POWs in custody.
Thorp said the reports indicated that there were uniforms, boots and helmets on the streets and that the surrender showed the division was "demonstrating an unwillingness to fight against the American forces."
