March 24, 2003

Auburn University defeats Wake Forest University, 68-62, in second round of NCAA East Regional tournament; photo (M)

A Nation at War, a separate section, begins on Page B1.

American and British ground forces suffer worst casualties so far in war against Iraq in sharpest engagements of conflict; at least 20 American soldiers die or are missing and 50 are wounded in day of ambushes, accidents and tank and artillery engagements; most of losses occur at Nasiriya, along Euphrates River about 100 miles north of Kuwaiti border where Army maintenance convoy is ambushed, resulting in death or capture of dozen soldiers; as many as 10 soldiers die during fierce battle after troop carrier is struck by rocket-propelled grenade; Pres Bush expresses grief to parents of soldiers lost in battle, but says he is confident campaign will succeed; main force of allied army races toward Bahgdad; skirts Najaf and other centers of population; Iraqi tactics show little coherent military organization, but expose potential weakness in dash by American forces to Baghdad; by skipping over cities, coalition forces appear to leave flanks and rear areas exposed to counterattacks by irregulars under command of Republican Guard; diagrams (M)

Nighttime convoy of lightly armed Army maintenance unit near Euphrates River ends in wrong turn at bridge that leads to death for some American soldiers and capture of others; Pentagon officials say some, if not all, of dead and captured Americans shown on Arab television network Al Jazeera are from skirmish involving maintenance unit near town of Nasirya in southeastern Iraq; say convoy came under attack from two Iraqi tanks and company-sized unit of foot soldiers believed to be fedayeen irregulars; say that in clash that followed, first two cars of convoy were separated from other 13 vehicles; Al Jazeera broadcasts Iraqi soldiers questioning some of captured American soldiers, who appear shaken and nervous; one of soldiers is woman; broadcast of dead includes images of at least four bodies; it is unclear whether any of American dead shown on tapes has been executed; photos; map (M)

Michigan State University defeats Florida University, 68-46, in second round of NCAA South Regional tournament (M)

Iraq's Defense Min Gen Sultan Hashim says American forces en route to Baghdad are avoiding Iraqi defenses in cities and towns but will have to pay 'heavy price in blood' fighting for Baghdad if they hope to topple Pres Saddam Hussein; outlines strategy for countering Americans; says American troops will have to fight Iraqi forces for control of principal population centers, and above all Baghdad; says Iraqi forces have held their own in virtually every battle with Americans so far; says American advances are taking place because US commanders have chosen not to fight for control of cities and towns like Basra, Nasiriya and Samawa in Euphrates River valley on drive north from Kuwait; warning comes hours before resumption of intense bombing and missile attacks against Baghdad after mostly quiet period following ferocious March 21 aerial assault; photos (M)

American forces begin battle for 'Red Zone,' area around Iraq's capital of Baghdad that is defended by Republican Guard and is one of most treacherous regions of country for invading allied forces; use attack helicopters and surface-to-surface missiles in first ground attacks on Republican Guard divisions that are stationed at approaches to city; meet stiff resistance, underscoring risks of war that began with lightning speed and is entering crucial phase; optimistic statements in Washington may have created expectations that war would be swift and relatively casualty-free; first intense days of fighting were perhaps easiest of war; many Iraqi soldiers allies encountered were ill motivated and ill trained; senior US military officials say air strikes on Baghdad have taken toll on Iraqi military, but have not destroyed its ability to direct forces; say command and control of Special Republican Guard, which is charged with defending interior of capital, is still intact; say it is shielding itself from air strikes by taking refuge in schools, mosques and other structures off limits to air attack; photos (M)

Thousands of American troops head to Baghdad, flowing north from Basra in unending stream of people and steel; departing American troops leave behind kind of benign military occupation, with minimum number of American and British troops in place to hold on to gains and quell last pockets of Iraqi resistance; allied troops ring cities of Basra and Nasiriya but, wary of street fights and refugee flows, they generally do not venture inside; dangers of doing so become clear on outskirts of Nasiriya, when both Marine and Army units take heavy casualties; focus is on speed to get to Baghdad to destroy Saddam Hussein's government; photo (M)

Senior HealthSouth Corp executives who may have been involved in company's effort to disguise financial difficulties reportedly scramble to offer evidence and strike deals with federal prosecutors; one reportedly plans to submit documents showing how Richard M Scrushy, HealthSouth's former chairman, oversaw creation of sophisticated electronic surveillance system that may have intimidated senior officials into keeping quiet; Weston Smith, former chief financial officer named in criminal complaint filed by Justice Department, is cooperating with investigators in their effort to show how Scrushy pushed senior executives to inflate earnings to prevent decline in HelthSouth's share price; the large number of employees with knowledge of accounting scheme that reportedly went on for more than 15 years but accelerated in scope from 1999 to 2001 prompts questions of how practices were kept secret for so long; photo (M)

Allied forces meet stiff resistance from regular Iraqi soldiers and guerrillas near Nasiriya on March 23 in deadliest fighting of war; at least 10 marines die and dozens are wounded in clash with pockets of Iraqi infantry and bands of guerrillas known as Martyrs of Saddam while trying to secure bridges and retrieve wounded Army soldiers, left stranded after about dozen members of unit were killed or captured after making wrong turn while trying to skirt city before dawn; photos (M)

Alessandra Stanley reviews ABC's broadcast of 75th Academy Awards (M)

Surge in demand for online news about war in Iraq has become pivotal test of potential of high-speed Internet connections, both to attract users to online media outlets and to persuade them to pay for material they find there; Web sites of many of major news organizations have hastily assembled novel collage of live video, audio reports, photography collections, animated weaponry displays, interactive maps and other new digital reportage; some Internet analysts play down comparisons between rise of broadband news in this war and rise of CNN in 1991; photo; graph (M)