U.S. MARINES LOOK AT BODIES OF IRAQI SOLDIERS, 2003-03-27 (photo)

A group of U.S. marines look at two bodies of Iraqi soldiers, killed during yesterday's Iraqi attack on the military convoys on the road, some 150 km north of the town of Nassiriya March 27, 2003. U.S. forces in south Iraq said on Thursday they were braced for their biggest battle yet on the road to Baghdad - an expected clash near the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala with elements of Iraq's Republican Guard. After two days of clashes with Iraqi forces as they followed the river Euphrates north towards the Iraqi capital, senior U.S. commanders said they expected a possibly decisive battle near Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) from Baghdad, within 48 to 72 hours. REUTERS/Oleg Popov