Chemical battle concern mounts
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SPECIAL REPORT
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DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- Australian military officials have said there were indications some upcoming battles in or around Baghdad could involve chemical weapons.
Australian Forces Commander Brig. Maurie McNarn said that while the allies felt confident about the way the war was progressing, some of the most fierce battles could lie ahead.
"The closer you get towards Baghdad and the more desperate the regime becomes," said McNarn, "I think the more likelihood there is that they will use chemical weapons.
"The combat indicators, as we call it, are certainly there in terms of training facilities we've found -- equipment, instructions, antidote -- which have been widely issued to their personnel.
"They know we don't carry chemical weapons, so you've got to assume if they're equipping their people and preparing them to survive in a chemical environment, they at least have an intention of using chemical weapons at some stage," he said.
That stated, McNarn also acknowledged Iraq's Republican Guard has taken a pounding lately, suffering heavy causalities.
"There's about six Republican Guard divisions we're concerned about," he said. "I believe at least two of them are now completely combat ineffective and I suspect we will find as we advance that the others have taken a fairly heavy hammering as well."
McNarn also said intelligence reports signal that Iraq's command and control has been severely downgraded and there is increasing disorganization and indications of some "fairly desperate maneuvering."
As for whether Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is still in control, McNarn said that was a hard one to call. But as troops moved closer to Baghdad, he believed the answer would evolve.
Australia has the third biggest military contingent in the U.S.-led coalition, deploying over 2,000 troops including SAS, commandos, fighter aircraft and naval vessels.
