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The US-led coalition forces have been forced to change their strategy following strong resistance from the Iraqi troops, who have inflicted severe losses on the enemy side since the war broke out 11 days ago, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Sunday.
Speaking at a briefing, Hazem Al-Rawi, the spokesman also said the Iraqi troops have succeeded in "shaking the balance and forcing the enemy to stop its advance towards Baghdad" thanks to attacks on the advance and rear forces of the US-led coalition forces.
Hundreds of enemy troops have been killed, with thousands more injured during the attacks by Iraqi troops, who have also destroyed 130 tanks and armored personnel carriers, Al-Rawi said.
He also announced that the Iraqi troops have fired a missile, the second in two days, on the Ali al-Salem air base in Kuwait Saturday night from where US "invaders" have launched military strikes against Iraq.
Al-Rawi predicted that there will be more suicide bombing attacks against the US-led coalition forces, following the one carried out by Iraqi military officer Ali Jaafar Musa Hammadi al-Numani near the city of Najaf on Saturday.
4,000 volunteers from all Arab countries have arrived in Iraq to fight along with the Iraqi troops and to carry out suicide attacks against the US-led allied troops, said the Iraqi military spokesman.
He honored Al-Numani, who detonated his taxi at a US army checkpoint near Najaf, as a "hero and martyr."
The suicide bombing killed 11 US-led coalition troops, instead of four as reported earlier, said Al-Rawi.
He added that it was a "dirty American missile" that hit a crowded Baghdad market on Friday night, killing at least 30 civilians and wounding 47 others.
(People's Daily March 31, 2003)
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