Report: Iraqi Convoy Moving Toward Marines

A huge Iraqi convoy is reported to be rolling toward the 1st Marine Division, which includes troops from Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms.

The 1st Marine Division is in southern Iraq, and heading north toward Baghdad. U.S. officials report that an Iraqi convoy of perhaps 1,000 vehicles is moving south toward them.

U.S. authorities gave conflicting accounts about Iraqi troop movements. Some said the convoy could include members of Saddam Hussein´s elite Republican Guard. But intelligence officials said it could be made up of paramilitary fighters known as the “Fedayeen.”

Military commanders say they are making a great effort to defeat the “Fedayeen.” Lieutenant Colonel B.T. McCoy, who is deployed with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines from Twentynine Palms, described the Marines´ new mission as being in “a hunting mode.”