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Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismisses claims the United States was unprepared for the ground war in Iraq and says there will be no delay in the push toward Baghdad. NPR's Alex Chadwick talks to Tom Ricks of The Washington Post.

Iraqi military officials in Baghdad promise more suicide attacks against U.S.-led forces, following Saturday's car bombing that killed four U.S. soldiers near the Iraqi city of Najaf. Iraq says it has given the equivalent of more than $30,000 to the family of the man who carried out the suicide attack. NPR's Liane Hansen talks to reporter John Laurence.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Rick Atkinson, Washington Post correspondent with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, near Najav in central Iraq. Atkinson describes the firefights the 101st Airborne Division has been engaging in around the Shiite holy city of Najav.

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan identifies Saturday's suicide car bomber as an Iraqi army officer and says such attacks are now "routine military policy." Four U.S. troops died in the attack near the central Iraq city of Najaf. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep.

The United States steps up airstrikes against Iraqi targets north of Baghdad. Kurdish forces in northern Iraq welcome the support, and officials there report an increase in surrenders by Iraqi troops. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

U.S. forces crossing the Tigris River in their push toward the Iraqi capital have "destroyed" the Baghdad Division of Iraq's elite Republican Guard, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks of the U.S. Central Command says. Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes bombard the strategic city of Karbala and U.S. Marines move to within 37 miles of Baghdad. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell heads to Ankara in an attempt to mend ties damaged by the war in Iraq. Turkey refused to allow American troops to use its border as a launching pad for the war, and Turkish leaders are equally frustrated with Washington's opposition to any major Turkish incursion into Iraq. NPR's Guy Raz reports.

Iraq's health minister says more than 350 civilians have been killed since the war began, including 36 in Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Most of the victims died in an attack on a commercial district in the city; Iraqi officials blame the bombing on U.S. missiles, but the Pentagon says it did not target the area. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

There was more fierce fighting today around the central Iraqi city of An Najaf, about 100 miles south of the capital of Baghdad. U.S. forces with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division have all but surrounded the city, and are slowly eliminating the Iraqi military and paramilitary resistance there. NPR's Eric Westervelt, embedded with the 3rd Infantry, reports on the fierce battle to gain control of the city -- site of a holy Shi'ite shrine.

U.S.-led warplanes strike facilities in Baghdad, including various Republican Guard positions and a presidential compound. The air assault is described as one of the heaviest since the war began. Iraqi officials say 19 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten and NPR's Anne Garrels.