Battle of Karbala Update

Very, very good article in the NY Times gives solid context at last, and does more than anything else to explain what has been going on there. Apparently persistent attacks by Republican Guard, Al-Quds and Saddam Fedayeen units led allied forces to encircle the city, rather than bypassing it as planned, hence the battles over bridges and around the outskirts. A better real-time report comes from USA Today's Sean D. Naylor, who gives a blow-by-blow of the action as it developed (Hat Tip: blogmate Trent Telenko).

There have been casualties on both sides, though as I noted in today's Winds of War Iraqi casualties are over 1,000. That said:

"...two tanks and one Bradley fighting vehicle with the division's 3rd Regiment, 7th Cavalry Squadron were destroyed by anti-armored missiles. Officers here believe the missile may be a new Russian variant, known as a Cornet, purchased despite United Nations sanctions on arms sales to Iraq."

One point to consider: they may not have come from Russia. The Syrians took a substantial shipment around 1999, a matter that was of some concern to the Israelis. William Safire has already noted the role of Syria in getting banned French rocket fuel to Iraq, and their role in circumventing U.N. sanctions is well-known. So Syria would be my first guess as the source of this equipment.

On a happier note, there's this:

" Despite the American foothold on the eastern side of the Euphrates, Iraqi forces continued to attack in what soldiers described as futile, almost fanatical assaults against M1-A1 tanks and Bradley armored fighting vehicles.

Cpl. Benjamin R. Richardson, who was among the engineers who went to the bridge, said he saw two civilian vehicles with armed Iraqis drive straight toward Americans. A tank drove simply over one of the vehicles without firing a shot...."