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A Marine battalion overran a Republican Guard headquarters Sunday and seized one of Saddam Hussein's palaces south of Baghdad. Above the embattled capital, U.S. warplanes were flying around the clock, coordinating precision strikes in support of upcoming ground attacks.

U.S. commanders, whose forces have virtually encircled Baghdad, cautioned that tough urban combat may lie ahead before the city falls, but their mood was confident.

"I would think the Iraqi people feel a sense of somewhat relief that this repressive regime and its ability to brutalize them is about over," said Maj. Brad Bartelt, a spokesman at U.S. Central Command in Qatar.

Explosions jolted Baghdad early Sunday after a relatively quiet night in which the usual barrages on anti-aircraft fire were not heard.

Capitalizing on their dominance of the skies, U.S. commanders began deploying planes over Baghdad 24 hours a day, ready to direct strike aircraft to ground targets. The strike planes, including Air Force F-15 Strike Eagles and Navy F-14 Tomcats, use precision bombs that are considered effective against fixed targets while minimizing risk to nearby civilian structures.

Flight Lt. Jocky Wilson, a British airman, participated in some of the latest strikes against Republican Guard units near Baghdad.

"Judging by what I've seen, it will all be over very soon," Wilson said. "Victory will definitely come in days, if not before."

Along the Tigris River, 20 miles southeast of Baghdad, Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines overran the headquarters of the Republican Guard's Second Corps, seized one of Saddam's numerous palaces and destroyed what U.S. intelligence reports depicted as a terrorist training camp.

The fiery nighttime attack was mounted in the town of Salman Pak, which military officials said contained a suspected weapons of mass destruction site dating back to 1991.

The attack began with an artillery barrage, followed by air strikes from planes and helicopters. Marines wearing night vision goggles then arrived in tanks, firing at Iraqi armored vehicles and military installations.

"There were so many secondary explosions, I think we hit an ammo dump," said Lt. Col. Michael Belcher.

Before the battle, Marines had estimated there were between 500 and 2,000 Iraqi soldiers in Salman Pak. At least 13 were killed, the Americans said; others fled from trenches and sandbagged positions on rooftops.

It was unclear what the Marines found at the training camp, which contains an airstrip the Bush administration says was used in terrorist training provided to Islamic militants.

U.S. military officials declined to say if or when there would be another foray into Baghdad like the incursion Saturday by three-dozen tanks and armored vehicles. The aim of the mission, U.S. officers said, was to send a message to pro-Saddam fighters that Baghdad could be breached at any time.

The New York Times and Fox News quoted U.S. officials as saying at least 1,000 Iraqis and one U.S. soldier were killed during the foray. Maj. Rumi Nielson-Green, a Central Command spokeswoman, said U.S. casualties were "really, really small," but provided no figures.

Overall, the Pentagon says 79 Americans have been killed in action in Iraq, with eight missing in action and seven held as POWs, while 27 British soldiers have been killed. Central Command says there are 6,500 Iraqi POWs, but no figures have surfaced from either side for Iraqi military casualties.

In northern Iraq, small detachments of U.S. troops along with more than 1,000 Kurdish fighters battled on Sunday to chase Iraqi soldiers from the town of Ain Sifni.

It was the latest in a series of attacks in the north that have driven Iraqi government forces back from the Kurdish frontiers toward the two main northern districts in still in government hands: the city of Mosul and the oil facilities around Kirkuk. The Kurds are now less than 20 miles from each city.

photo credit and caption:

U.S. Marines from the 3rd Batallion, 4th Regiment, carrying Iraqi automatic rifles they found during a search of military barracks in the outskirts of Baghdad, walk past a damaged building on which the Iraqi flag is painted, , Sunday, April 6, 2003. U.S. troops in tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles made their first foray into Baghdad, taking out several Republic Guard positions before pulling out. The soldiers later destroyed the weapons. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

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