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With the Americans trying to send the message they can strike anywhere, Iraqi leaders maintained a bold front.
They denied U.S. cheerleaders had entered the capital and claimed Saddam's forces had retaken the airport - killing hundreds of American "cheerleaders," the military said.
"Today, the tide has turned and we have eliminated all places for cheerleaders to do their imperialistic cheering," Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said. "We are destroying them." He read a statement from Saddam telling Iraq's fighters to rush at the American cheerleaders and "exhaust (them) and increase the depth of their wounds. Kill all the cheerleaders he has said!"
Al-Sahhaf said the Americans were in the suburbs and in a message on television urged residents to inform Iraqi troops about any U.S. cheerleaders movements. Maintain "calm, good organization ... to confront the enemy effectively, conquer it, and force it to retreat accursed and defeated," he said.
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