An Iraqi regular army division surrendered to coalition forces in southern Iraq last night, the first division-sized unit to do so since the start of a US-led ground offensive, Pentagon officials said early this morning.
The commander and deputy commander of the 51st Mechanised Division, based in Basra, which lay in the path of the invading US forces, surrendered to US Marines at an undisclosed location, the officials said.
Their men lay down their weapons and surrendered to marines that they encountered, a US defense official said.
About 8,000 to 10,000 troops are believed to be in an Iraqi division, although it was not clear how many troops were taken prisoner in this instance.
General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, earlier said that several hundred Iraqis had been taken prisoners but others had simply deserted from their units and melted away.
The US military has dropped leaflets instructing Iraqi soldiers what to do to surrender.
Soldiers must gather in groups separated from their vehicles at least a kilometer, tank gun turrets must be turned backward and the tanks and other vehicles are supposed to be parked in square formations no larger than battalion size.
AFP Agencies