US helicopter 'shot down'

At least one American attack helicopter was downed and the two pilots apparently taken prisoner as a fierce clash erupted today, marking the start of the battle for Baghdad.

Iraq claimed to have shot down two Apache helicopter gunships and state television showed men with Kalashnikovs dancing around one apparently undamaged helicopter, with two pilots' helmets lying on the grass and papers strewn across the ground.

American military chiefs confirmed one helicopter, which bore markings of a US armoured cavalry unit, was parked in a field near Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad.

The area was the scene of a fierce early-morning firefight as Apache helicopters opened up with Hellfire anti-tank missiles and heavy machineguns against T-72 tanks, the Iraqis' most advanced armour under the command of the Republican Guard.

The US helicopters came under "heavy, heavy barrage". According to one US reporter, they simply spent a few hours in the air defending themselves and trying to get out of the area.

CNN's Karl Penhaul, aboard a Black Hawk helicopter 15 miles away, said the pilots of his helicopter reported that the Republican Guard's barrage began at midnight UK time.

Most pilots reported they were unable to achieve their mission's objectives - to knock out the tanks and pierce Republican Guard artillery. One pilot described the situation as "a hornet's nest" as small-arms and antiaircraft fire came from "all sides".

Another pilot said his helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade which took out one of the engines.

He managed to fly back to base in northern Kuwait with one engine intact. At one stage the pilot said his aircraft dropped to 20 feet above an urban area before he regained control.

In the biggest attack of the war so far, B-52 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire launched daylight raids today on three armoured divisions of the Republican Guard, which form the outer defences of the Iraqi capital. They dropped 2,000lb smart bombs and fired Tomahawk cruise missiles. Also involved are A10 Warthog tankbusters, Harrier GR7s and other British and American planes, including RAF Tornado GR4s.

Each Republican Guard section has between 10,000 and 12,000 men, commanded from headquarters dug into deep bunkers.

The bombardment will continue day and night and will hit targets identified by the SAS after weeks of secret reconnaissance, Central Command in Qatar said. US military chiefs declared the invasion on-target despite numerous setbacks, but any expectation that Iraqi defenders would simply fold was gone.

"Clearly they are not a beaten force," said General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "This is going to get a lot harder."

British ground troops will not play any part in the American assault around Baghdad, although air power and previous missions by the SAS are vital to the effort. Instead, the British troops will provide a "shield" to the south-east of the advance, setting the borders for the British zone of Iraq which UK forces will be responsible for administering after the war.

Two thousand Iraqi soldiers have surrendered, a far lower figure than had been widely expected.