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April 2003
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For Immediate Release
April 3, 2003
Global Message
Progress continues in the war to end the regime of Saddam Hussein. As we close in on Baghdad, our forces - air and ground - are performing superbly, but we must remember that some of the toughest fighting could still lie ahead.
We must not forget that the Iraqi regime has a history of killing hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Iraq, including the thousands of Shia Muslims who rose up after the Gulf War.
We are showing more respect for a prominent mosque in Najaf than Iraqi forces. Against all international laws of war, Saddam's forces are using the mosque as a military fortress. Coalition troops have not fired back - and will continue to work to avoid civilian casualties and protect Iraq's holy sites.
More than mosques are being mistreated by the Iraqi regime. Coalition forces in An Najat found a school in which the Iraqi regime had stashed weapons and many rounds of ammunition.
Iraqi people are coming forward with vital information about the enemy. They approach our troops and tell them where the enemy is hiding, where weapons are hidden, where torture chambers are, where bodies are buried.