From Reuters and IOL:
United States Marines seized a key bridge over the Tigris river in central Iraq on Wednesday and took control of the main Highway 6 from Kut to Baghdad, a senior Marine officer said.
“That’s the last big bridge we needed for an advance on Baghdad,” the officer told Reuters correspondent Sean Maguire near Kut. “This was the plan. It’s been successful.”
“Today’s action is a major move. There’s still tank battles continuing,” the officer added, saying the Baghdad Division of Iraq’s Republican Guard, based at Kut, was now “irrelevant”.
(Cross-posted on the only war resource you need, The Command Post)