| U.S. Central Command chief General Tommy Franks said on Sunday that fierce Iraqi resistance and guerrilla raids were not stopping supplies moving from Kuwait to frontline troops in central Iraq.
Franks told a news conference at U.S. war headquarters in Qatar that "bands of thugs" had occupied cities like Basra, Nassiriya and Najaf, south of Baghdad, and were trying to disrupt supply lines running 250 miles to the front.
"They have put themselves in a position to terrorize Iraqis in these villages and cities and to be able to move up along the lines of communication to attempt to interdict our supplies," he said. "They have not been able to do this."
"These bands of thugs that operate inside these population centers face more and more of our capability every day," he said. "The supplies are moving now, and every day we see more and better connection between our forces and the local Iraqis in each one of these cities."
Source: Reuters | |
