The Iranian press agency said two Iraqi brigades, each estimated to number 4,000 troops, were wiped out today.

The air campaign devastated entire Iraqi brigades deployed in the open desert in combat formation.

In one case, he said, an entire American battalion, typically with more than 500 soldiers, will be attached to a particular Iraqi brigade.

This included transitioning area of operations to Iraqi brigades and battalions.

At first, the area seemed to be deserted, but overhead, helicopter crews reported the dug in tanks of an entire Iraqi brigade.

Within 24 hours, most of the other Iraqi brigades were gone.

By the end of the summer, he said, 75 percent of Iraqi brigades would be assuming the lead in military operations.

At this battle, it was said that the Kurds slaughtered an entire Iraqi brigade.

An Iraqi armored brigade usually has as many as 150 tanks.

The first Iraqi brigade took over a small piece of Baghdad early last year.