Bloodshed as Kirkuk falls

Kirkuk fell firmly into the hands of Kurdish militia today who punched their way through the remains of Saddam Hussein's army almost unopposed after two weeks of aerial bombardment by America.

Wild scenes of jubilation were seen across the city as the militia spread, firing into the air in a move which is certain to cause outrage in Turkey.

Ankara had threatened to invade Iraq from the north if the Kurds were allowed to move on Kirkuk, Iraq's second richest oil city which many Kurds hope will become the capital of an independent state.

A statue of Saddam in the centre of the city was torn down by civilians within hours of the Kurds' arrival.

I was caught up in a dramatic firefight today as the allied push claimed the key oil town. In a major advance for the coalition, I accompanied US marines and Kurdish peshmerga forces as they reached positions on the very edge of the city and then thrust further into the centre.

Groups of Kurdish fighters, including women, marched in to be met by crowds of celebrating locals.

But the path to Kirkuk was perilous. In Laylan, our unit of Kurds and eight American Green Berets fell into a terrifying ambush as they were abandoned by the peshmerga, leaving them exposed on two sides to heavy machinegun and mortar fire.

The Green Berets held their ground as the first mortar rounds crashed into a wheatfield 50 feet from the Evening Standard's car, and fought a skirmish lasting about 20 minutes. They fired back with a multiple grenade launcher on a recentlyrigged British Land Rover which had only arrived after protracted negotiations with Turkey in the last few days.

"Without that gun, we would be spaghetti bolognese by now," said Andrew, a Green Beret sergeant who manned the weapon. He said hundreds of rounds had whipped past his ears until the snipers were silenced by the grenade launcher.

Kirkuk's oilfields and a vast cement factory, said to be the biggest in the Middle East, were firmly in Kurdish

hands by lunchtime. There had been little or no damage to the muchprized oil wells despite fears that troops loyal to Saddam would try to blow them up prior to any retreat.

However, the Kurdish gains provoked a protest from Turkey that it was "unacceptable" for the Kurds to stay in Kirkuk for any length of time. Turkey later said it was sending military observers to the town.

During the march to Kirkuk, marines and the Kurds took a succession-of prisoners of war. Mohamed Nasir, an Iraqi soldier captured by the Kurds yesterday, said Iraqi military chiefs had forced him at gunpoint to fight on the front line after he attempted to desert.

"They took away our watches and radios four months ago and there were many executions when people were caught at checkpoints trying to escape from the army," he said.

In western Iraq, near Syria, US forces have been involved in intense fighting around the border town of Al Qaim. Military chiefs fear Saddam's forces could fire ballistic missiles at neighbouring countries from the area. Republican Guards, paramilitaries and some regular army units have continued to fight there.

Major General Renuart said: "Those forces have been significantly reduced over the last week or two and we can begin to control that area more freely."

At the height of the fighting in Laylan, John, the captain in charge of the Green Beret team, withdrew his men beyond the range of Iraqi mortars and called in air strikes.

"These are the last men fighting on this front and we're glad to have a hand in putting an end to them," he said.

In his Land Rover sat a young prisoner of war who was amazed to have been given water and sweets by the Americans. He said he had expected to be shot in the head.