IRAQ

Ny Times: Sniper Fire Greets G.I.'s in Big City in North

MOSUL, Iraq, April 11 — American Special Forces troops entered northern Iraq's largest city today, finding it engulfed by anarchy. Gunfire from Iraqi irregulars greeted the force of several dozen Americans, and the shots prompted them to pull back after spending only 30 minutes in the streets here.

The American incursion here came after the organized Iraqi resistance had fled and was the result of 24 hours of negotiations with tribal and Baath Party leaders intended to bring about the peaceful surrender of Iraq's third-largest city.

The brief fight here this afternoon reflected the enduring difficulties of the military situation in Iraq. An important center of resistance has formed in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, 110 miles north of Baghdad. The road south of Kirkuk, the other major northern city, has become a no man's land frequented by Iraqi irregulars, or fedayeen.