IRAQ SAYS IRAN OFFENSIVE ON SOUTHERN FRONT CHECKED
Iraq said today its troops had killed
thousands of Iranians in checking a new Tehran offensive on
their southern war front.
    The official Iraqi news agency INA quoted a correspondent
in the field as saying Baghdad's forces were pursuing
retreating Iranian troops.
    The agency said the al-Ghadeer Brigade of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards and the 21st Brigade had been destroyed in
the fighting.
    The INA correspondent said Iraqi troops had surrounded the
Iranians after the overnight attack was launched.
    The Iranian news agency IRNA said Iranian forces had killed
or wounded over 2,600 Iraqis in their new Karbala-8 offensive
and the thrust through Iraqi defences was continuing.
    Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who presided over a meeting
of his top military commanders in Baghdad two days ago, visited
the northern city of Mosul today to attend celebrations marking
the 40th anniversary of the ruling Baath Arab Socialist Party.
    Reuter correspondent Subhy Haddad reported from Mosul that
political observers there said Iran's offensive was timed to
coincide with the party's anniversary. But radio programs were
normal and there was no word in Mosul on fighting in the south.
 REUTER
