8 | The
invasion
US forces
continued to attack paramilitaries around Hindiyah, Samawah and
Najaf, while
moving
towards Hillah.224
2
April: Ground and air
forces continued to engage the Republican Guard.225
Most
forward
elements of Coalition ground forces were within 15 miles of
Baghdad.
3
April: Elements of
the US V Corps passed through Karbala and moved
towards
Baghdad.226
The lead
elements of the US 3rd Infantry Division reached the
outskirts
of Baghdad.
4
April: US forces
seized Baghdad International Airport.227
5
April: US V Corps
entered central Baghdad.228
6
April: The first
Coalition aircraft (a C130) landed at Baghdad International
Airport.229
7
April: The US 3rd
Infantry Division secured “all major routes in and out of
Baghdad,
from the
South through to the North West”.230
8
April: US V Corps and
1 MEF continued to encircle Baghdad, conducting
intelligence-
led
attacks.231
A US A-10
aircraft was shot down over Baghdad by a surface-to-air
missile;
the pilot
was recovered safely.
9
April: US forces
entered Baghdad.232
Iraqi
civilians tore down statues of Saddam
Hussein in
central Baghdad with the aid of US Marines.
10
April: Kurdish
forces, which had been operating alongside the US, took the
opportunity
to enter
Kirkuk after encountering little Iraqi resistance.233
US Marines
were ordered to
prepare a
plan to deploy to Kirkuk by 14 April to restore order.
12
April: US Marines
advanced on Tikrit. Lt Gen McKiernan moved his command
from
Kuwait to a
temporary HQ at Baghdad International Airport.234
13
April: The situation
across Iraq began to stabilise, and moves began to
restore
utilities.235
US Marines
continued to attack pockets of Iraqi resistance and secure
the
northern
oilfields. Kurdish forces had withdrawn from Kirkuk.
On 16
April, Gen Franks issued his Freedom Message to the Iraqi People,
which is
described
in Section 9.1.
224
Briefing
[MOD], 1 April 2003, ‘Iraq: Update for the Number 10 Sitrep – as at
0600 1 April 2003’.
225
Minute
Cabinet Office [junior official], 2 April 2003, ‘Iraq: COBR Round
Up of Key Events – 2 April’.
226
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 3 April
2003, columns 1069-1071.
227
Ministry of
Defence, Operations
in Iraq: Lessons for the Future, December
2003.
228
Ministry of
Defence, Operations
in Iraq: Lessons for the Future, December
2003.
229
Paper
[unattributed], [undated], ‘Op TELIC PJHQ Chronology
2002-03’.
230
Paper
[unattributed], [undated], ‘Op TELIC PJHQ Chronology
2002-03’.
231
Briefing
[MOD], 8 April 2003, ‘Annex to Evening Sitrep, 8 April
2003’.
232
Minute
Cabinet Office [junior official] to Manning, 9 April 2003, ‘Iraq:
COBR Round Up of Key
Events – 9
April’.
233
Briefing
[MOD], 10 April 2003, ‘Annex to Number 10 Sitrep, 10 April 2003:
Military’.
234
Briefing
Cabinet Office, 12 April 2003, ‘Iraq: Evening Round Up: 12
April’.
235
Briefing
[MOD], 13 April 2003, ‘Iraq: Update for the Number 10 Sitrep – as
at 1100 at 13 April 2003’.
67