Troops continue toward Baghdad

Coalition troops pressed toward Baghdad with new wariness on Monday, as militiamen loyal to Saddam Hussein proved they were not a beaten force and sandstorms snarled the advance. Iraq claimed to have shot down two U.S. helicopters and taken two pilots prisoner, a day after more than 20 Americans were killed or captured.\nFacing a pattern of deadly ambushes and ruses, and with many of Saddam's supporters discarding their uniforms in favor of civilians clothes, coalition forces responded with tough new tactics in the south.\nU.S. officials also confirmed their forces have arrived in northern Iraq, and have been operating there for about 24 hours. Coalition warplanes bombed a military barracks near the Kurdish-held town of Chamchamal, not far from the Iraqi oil center of Kirkuk.\nSaddam sought to rally his people Monday with a televised speech. Speaking on Iraqi TV before a white backdrop, he appeared relaxed and healthy.\nHe assured Iraqis "victory will be ours soon," and mentioned the defiant resistance of Iraqi forces in Umm Qasr, which U.S. and British forces have struggled to hold since Saturday. The reference seemed designed to allay any suspicion that the address had been taped earlier, or that Saddam had been wounded or killed last week.\nThe language was general enough that U.S. and British officials were not convinced. A senior U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said U.S. intelligence had determined that Saddam's speech was recorded but that it was unclear when it was taped -- hours or weeks before the strikes.\nIraqi TV later showed images of what appeared to be a downed U.S. Apache attack helicopter sitting largely undamaged in a grassy field. Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf claimed peasants had shot down two Apaches, and two pilots were in custody.\nU.S. Gen. Tommy Franks confirmed that one helicopter and two pilots were missing in action but he rejected the idea that farmers had brought down the copter.\nSpeaking at a briefing in Qatar, he said Saddam's command and control network was still working but was damaged.\nFranks said that U.S.-led coalition forces were making "rapid and in some cases dramatic" progress in Iraq but also have met sporadic resistance.\nIn Baghdad, security and police officers dug more trenches around military offices in the heart of the Iraqi capital, as smoke from fires set to conceal targets from bombing hung over the city Monday. Daytime traffic was heavy in some areas, youngsters played soccer on side streets and Iraqis walked the city despite the tension from days of bombing by coalition forces.