THE Iraqi military has spent months researching America’s defeats in Somalia, Lebanon and Vietnam to perfect the guerrilla warfare tactics now being used so effectively against invading coalition troops.

While the stiff resistance of the Iraqi Armed Forces against the US-led assault took many American and British commanders by surprise, President Saddam Hussein and his key military advisers made no secret of their preparations, which were launched nearly a year ago.

They have spoken openly about drawing coalition forces into urban areas, attacking invading troops from the rear and using concentrated fire to bring down helicopters.

During a visit to Baghdad last year, Iraqi officials referred frequently to the debacle in Mogadishu, when 19 US Army Rangers were killed after a helicopter was shot down. Somali fighters loyal to Muhammad Aideed, a warlord, and supported by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda group, ambushed the helicopter by firing a volley of rocket-propelled grenades simultaneously. Troops were shot when they attempted to rescue the crew.

The incident, which led to a withdrawal by the United States from Somalia, was the subject of the book and film Black Hawk Down, copies of which were circulated in Baghdad. An identical tactic was used by the Iraqis with devastating effect on Sunday night near the city of Karbala, 70 miles southwest of Baghdad, against 32 US Apache helicopters. All the helicopters were hit in the barrage and one was forced down and its two-man crew captured. Although the anti-aircraft fire came from primitive weapons, it was so concentrated that one American pilot said that the ambush was like “flying into a hornet’s nest”. The Americans are now being forced to revise their tactics.

Of equal concern to American and British commanders is the threat of suicide bombings. Last year Iraqi officials admitted to Toby Dodge, an expert on Iraq at Warwick University, that they were studying the suicide lorry-bomb attack against a US Marines barracks in Beirut in 1982, when more than 250 troops were killed by a single bomber. The incident, which was followed by similar bombings against the US Embassy, led to the withdrawal of US forces from Lebanon.

Iraq could easily train for this type of operation: until his death last summer, Abu Nidal, the Palestinian terrorist leader who masterminded a number of suicide missions, lived in Baghdad.

Arguably the most serious threat to the coalition forces are the hit-and-run operations being launched by Iraqi irregulars up and down the extended American supply lines. Here the Iraqis have adapted lessons from Vietnam, and in particular the Vietcong guerrillas, who successfully took on hundreds of thousands of US troops.

Last year Saddam took the first steps towards organising a similar force. He sent arms, equipment and teams of trained men to regional cities such as Basra, al-Nasiriya and Mosul with instructions to prepare for guerrilla fighting. Regional governors were summoned to Baghdad and told that in the event of an invasion they had the power to continue fighting even if contact with headquarters in Baghdad was cut. Members of the mukhabarat (secret police) were also dispatched to enforce loyalty and to stop any defections. These forces operate in civilian clothes, travel in unmarked cars and often launch operations at night against vulnerable targets such as the US Army engineers ambushed at the weekend.

Saddam has also tried to recruit other groups in Iraq to help his guerrilla war. Tribal chiefs, who were stripped of most of their powers by the Baathist regime, have been openly courted over the past few months with money and arms. Yesterday Saddam appealed to them again to use their followers to fight the US-led invasion. “The day has come for you to assume your responsibilities — fight them with your clans and tribes,” he said in a television broadcast.

He went on to offer tactical advice on how to harass the coalition forces. “When the enemy moves, attack the head and tail,” he said. “If you attack the head and tail, they will be unable to move and become easy targets for the fire of your weapons. If the enemy takes shelter, harass him and attack him day and night,” he said.

American and British forces operating in Iraq have been given training in urban combat and anti-insurgency, but the cost of fighting a long guerrilla war could be heavy. Last year the Pentagon conducted an urban combat exercise pitting 1,000 Marines against 160 “enemies”. Thanks to their firepower the Marines won, but they suffered about 100 casualties in the process.

Times Recommends

• Peter Moore’s family say they can smile again
• Ambition always comes before a fall
• Putin: Russia needs more weapons to counter US