Pentagon: Iraqi troop movements detected

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Pentagon: Iraqi troop movements detected

The forces on the move were a brigade in size, a Pentagon official said October 12, 2000, 07:41 PM WASHINGTON (AFP English) - A brigade-size force of Iraqi troops has been detected moving to the north and west, a Pentagon official said Thursday, adding that the movement did not appear to be in preparation for any kind of attack. "There has been some movement to the north and west that is of interest but not really (cause for) alarm," the official said. "It does not look like preparation for any kind of attack."

The forces on the move were a brigade in size, the official said.

The official said the Pentagon was closely following the troop movements, which have coincided with a what is believed to be an attack on a US destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden that killed at least four sailors and left 10 others missing.

http://www.arabia.com/article/0,1690,News|31026,00.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 12, 2000

Answers

Friday, 13 October, 2000, 10:53 GMT US alert over Iraqi build-up

A division of 15,000 Iraqi troops is on the move

The United States has responded cautiously to news that as many as 15,000 Iraqi troops may be on the move. US intelligence services have reportedly spotted the westward movement of the Hammurabi Division, which consists of about 15,000 Special Republican Guard troops.

"We're watching it very closely. But we have not seen any specific move that would indicate [Saddam Hussein] intends to cause any major controversy," US Defence Secretary William Cohen said.

White House spokesman Jake Siewert said that the movement could be part of a training exercise.

But both emphasised that the United States would respond to any threat.

"Saddam Hussein is capable of stooping to any level, and he has demonstrated he will try to capitalise on the violence in Israel and the territories to try to advance his own agenda", Siewert said.

"We've made it very clear that if Iraq threatens its neighbours, or US forces, we maintain a credible force in the region and are prepared to use it at a time and place of our own choosing," Siewert added.

Israeli response

US Defence Secretary Cohen: Watching closely Israel Radio said that the Iraqi move "cannot be ignored under the present circumstances", but that it does not seem to pose an immediate threat.

Sean Boyne, a correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly, said that the troop movement could be sabre-rattling.

"They do move troops to exert political pressure or assert themselves", he said.

"It doesn't necessarily mean they're going to do anything", he said

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_970000/97017 3.stm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 15, 2000.


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