"U.S. and British airstrikes pounded Iraqi forces Wednesday in the northern city of Tikrit, the next focus of the war now that U.S. troops have largely secured Baghdad.
Special operations forces also were "softening the battlefield" before any U.S. ground troops move into the hometown of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the presumed hideout for his supporters, U.S. officials said"
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030409_2375.html