Army airborne forces parachuted into northern Iraq on Wednesday, seizing an airfield as a prelude to opening a northern front against Saddam Hussein. British warplanes bombed an enemy convoy fleeing the besieged city of Basra in the south. One week into the war, the possibility of a major battle loomed within 100 miles of the capital as a larger convoy – this one made up of elite Republican Guard forces – moved in the direction of American troops aiming for Saddam’s seat of power.

Plans attack Iraqi convoy

Warplanes attacked a convoy of Iraqi armored vehicles leaving Basra under cover of sandstorms Wednesday, raising hopes that British troops could soon enter a city feared on the verge of a humanitarian crisis. Iraq claimed American missiles killed 14 civilians in Baghdad.

U.S. gathers more firepower

WASHINGTON – U.S. ground forces in central Iraq are gathering fresh combat power, probing defenses and allowing time for allied airpower to weaken Iraq’s Republican Guard around Baghdad before launching a multi-pronged attack on the capital, officials said Wednesday. The speed of the initial U.S. ground attack into Iraq from Kuwait last week led many to assume Baghdad would be assaulted soon, but now that appears to be many days away.

— By Associated Press