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| GROUND WAR |
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• Closer to Baghdad: U.S. troops are nearing Baghdad after beating back Iraqi Republican Guard units in what one officer called a "quick-moving" battle, military field commanders said. Full Story
• Getting there: Commanders with the Army's V Corps told CNN that American troops could be on Baghdad's southern outskirts by early Thursday. Full Story
• Rescued American: U.S. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, rescued in a special operations raid on a hospital, arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in southwestern Germany for treatment. She suffered two broken legs, both apparently from gunshot wounds, her family said. Full Story |  Video
• Fighting at Karbala: The U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division engaged the Republican Guard near Karbala, according to U.S. Central Command. CNN's Walter Rodgers reported that Army sources said the division's brigades captured Karbala with "little effort."
Full Story | 3rd Infantry
• Marines cross Tigris: The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force attacked the Republican Guard's Baghdad Division, capturing a bridge and crossing the Tigris River Wednesday. Air Force Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said the Baghdad and Medina divisions are "no longer credible forces." Full Story | 1st MEF
• Religious shrine: Iraqi forces are using a historic mosque in Najaf as a covert base of operation, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday. Iraqi soldiers are operating from the gilded dome of the tomb of Ali, which Shiite Muslims venerate as the burial site of the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law. Full Story
• Battle at Nasiriya: U.S. Marines in Nasiriya are going block-by-block to flush out Iraqi paramilitary units.
Gallery: War photos | Audio Slide Show: Army arrives
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| AIR WAR |
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 • Helicopter down: Pentagon officials said Wednesday a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter with 11 soldiers aboard was shot down by small arms fire near Karbala, killing seven. Four others were rescued.
• Iraqi capital blasts: Several explosions were heard in Baghdad Thursday morning. The source was not clear.
• Turkey agrees: After a trip by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Turkey agreed to allow overflights of U.S. military equipment and passage of humanitarian assistance into Iraq, U.S. officials say. Full Story
• Guided bombs: About 40 satellite-guided bombs late Wednesday pounded a "heavily secured" storage facility used by Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad, U.S. Central Command said.
• Weapons used: More than 10,000 precision-guided weapons have been used in Iraq so far, and 700 cruise missiles have been fired, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said Wednesday.
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| CASUALTIES |
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• Coalition: 76 coalition deaths reported.
List of coalition fatalities
• Iraq: The Iraqi government has not released information on military casualties but has said that 420 civilians have been killed. CNN cannot independently verify Iraq's numbers.
• Journalist: The British Broadcasting Corporation said one of its cameraman was accidentally killed in northern Iraq Wednesday. Kaveh Golestan, 52, was working at Kifri when he mistakenly stepped on a land mine. Full Story
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| POWs/MIAs |
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• Missing or captured: Seven U.S. military members are being held as POWs, and 15 are listed as missing in action.
Coalition POWs/MIAs
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| ON THE SCENE |
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Wedeman: Iraqis abandon ridge
Bellini: Marines play 'street cop'
Rodgers: Mighty army rolling
Penhaul: Commanders optimistic
More On the Scene reports |
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• Aid rations: The United Nations warned Wednesday that humanitarian food rations being handed out by coalition forces in Iraq have yellow wrapping the same color as a bomblet being dropped, which could mean death for children who confuse the two. 
Explore U.S. war plans and tactics
