Battles rage through Iraq

Battles rage through Iraq

US forces are backing Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq

Coalition forces are meeting strong resistance from Iraqi militia as they fight their way towards Baghdad.

The BBC's Gavin Hewitt, with US troops in central Iraq, says they are coming up against guerrilla-style attacks by the Fedayeen militia, armed mostly with small arms and in some cases disguised as civilians.

Battles have also been raging in the south, around Iraq's second city of Basra.

UK military officials accuse forces loyal to Saddam Hussein of firing on up to 2,000 civilians who were trying to leave the city, which is suffering from shortages of water, food and medical supplies.

The British troops say they opened fire on the militiamen in an attempt to protect the civilians.

IRAQ CAMPAIGN

Map: Military operations

Factfile: "Bunker-busters"

Iraqi officials have denied any uprising in Basra but they say it has been the scene for the most civilian casualties - with 116 people killed and 659 hurt since the war began.

A journalist from the Reuters news agency who managed to get inside Basra on Friday, David Cox, told the BBC he found no sign of a rebellion and while people did not seem to be panicked they were unsure who was in charge of Iraq.

Meanwhile, the first ship carrying humanitarian aid has managed to dock in the port of Umm Qasr after a voyage delayed by the discovery of mines.

In northern Iraq, the BBC's Jim Muir says up to 10,000 Kurdish peshmerga guerrillas aided by US forces have overrun the headquarters of an Islamic militant group, the Ansar al-Islam.

Hours later, Iraqi forces fired missiles at the Kurdish-controlled town of Chamchamal, 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Kirkuk, in apparent retaliation, reports from the area say.

Near-constant bomb attacks on Baghdad continued throughout the day following a night of intense bombardment, with the first use of two satellite-guided "bunker-busting" bombs by the US military aimed at communications centres.

HUMAN COST OF WAR

US: 26 dead (including 8 in accidents, 2 under investigation), 17 missing

UK: 22 dead (including 14 in accidents, 4 to 'friendly fire')

Iraq: More than 350 civilian deaths, military deaths unknown

*Figures from each government

Iraqi officials said seven people died and 92 were injured in the overnight raids.

Iraq says it believes the capital may be surrounded within days, but Defence Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed warned: "The enemy must come inside Baghdad and that will be its grave."

In other military developments:

• Kurdish fighters say they have crossed into Iraqi Government-controlled territory, advancing to within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of Kirkuk

• General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the UK military's general staff, says Iraqi forces are "pinned down" in the south

• An additional 120,000 US troops are being sent to the Gulf

Vital supply lines

The BBC's Andrew North with US marines says attacks with artillery and helicopter gunships were renewed on the strategically important central town of Nasiriya.

Four US marines are missing following fierce fighting around the town, US officials said.

The deputy director of operations for the US, Brigadier-General Vince Brooks, said earlier that special forces had destroyed two paramilitary headquarters in Nasiriya and operations were continuing to "eliminate identified terrorist death squads".

Battle also still rages for Samawah - another town on the route from Kuwait to Baghdad.

Correspondents say coalition forces do not want to take control of the towns necessarily, but have to ensure they are not harbouring people who could disrupt supply convoys.

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Both US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair have warned that there may not be a swift end to the conflict, though they say an eventual coalition victory is not in doubt.

Iraq's Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said 26 people had been killed and a further 60 wounded during clashes in another central town, Najaf, on Thursday.

In other developments:

• The United Nations launches a $2.2bn humanitarian appeal for Iraq as its Security Council votes unanimously to resume the oil-for-food programme which uses Iraqi oil revenues to buy food and medicines

• Thousands of Iranians attend state-organised protests against the war; crowds gathered outside the UK embassy and smashed windows

• Iraqi media broadcasts message from Saddam Hussein promising rewards for seized coalition military vehicles

• Russian President Vladimir Putin calls for an immediate end to the war