Who Are Saddam's 'Fedayeen' Fighters?

March 24 -- It was the sort of situation experts were warning about months before the military campaign in Iraq began, a nightmare scenario for U.S.-led troops on the ground.

On Sunday, U.S. Marines pushing their way northward across the Euphrates River were approached by an Iraqi vehicle waving a white flag near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya.

Assuming the vehicle was packed with Iraqi civilians wishing to surrender to coalition forces, the Marines awaited the approach of the surrendering Iraqis.

But it turned out to be an old trick from the bag of devious military deceptions, one with deadly consequences.

U.S. military officials said the Iraqi vehicle was packed with members of the Fedayeen Saddam, or "Saddam's Men of Sacrifice," a notoriously violent paramilitary group specializing in counterinsurgency operations for the regime in Baghdad.

Within minutes, according to reporters on the scene, there was mayhem in the area. The Iraqi fighters, dressed in civilian clothing, opened fire on the Marines, using small arms, assault rifles and some rocket-propelled grenades.

About 50 Marines were wounded in the ensuing melee, while a mortar attack apparently destroyed one of the Marines' vehicles before the wounded were evacuated.

Counterinsurgents Harassing U.S. Rear Guard, Says Military

Hours after reports of the ambushes came to light, the Fedayeen Saddam, a force believed to be largely made up of brutal, unemployed youth, shot into the international limelight.

U.S. military sources told ABCNEWS they believed Iraqi commanders dispatched Fedayeen fighters from Baghdad to Nasiriya over the past two weeks.

The deceptions were planned in advance, said military sources, and the fighters were meant to bolster regular army soldiers, whose loyalty to Saddam Hussein is considered questionable, the sources added.

During a press briefing at Central Command Headquarters in Qatar today, allied commander Gen. Tommy Franks said U.S. forces had "intentionally bypassed enemy formations," but he accused the Fedayeen of harassing U.S. rear guard in columns moving northward in southern Iraq.