'Saddam loyalists' bombed

'Saddam loyalists' bombed

Two aircraft dropped laser-guided bombs

US forces say they have bombed a building in the southern Iraqi city of Basra where about 200 paramilitaries loyal to Saddam Hussein were believed to be meeting.

US Central Command in Qatar said warplanes dropped laser-guided bombs on what it called an "emerging target".

There has been no word on the number of people killed or injured, although a Central Command spokesman said "no-one came out" of the shattered building.

The paramilitaries, or Fedayeen Saddam, have tightened their grip on Iraq's second largest city in the past few days and, according to coalition forces, prevented residents from fleeing.

The city is surrounded by British troops, who have declared the capture of Basra a "military objective".

On Saturday, British forces raided the city and reportedly destroyed two statues of Saddam Hussein.

Precision bombing

British forces spokesman Group Captain Al Lockwood said coalition forces called in air support after the Fedayeen were spotted gathering in the building for a meeting.

They hit the building and nobody has come out since

Group Captain Al Lockwood, UK forces

Central Command said two F-15E Strike Eagle fighters attacked the building under the cover of darkness.

They dropped two laser-guided bombs which were fitted with delayed fuses, so that they penetrated the building before exploding.

"They hit the building and nobody has come out since," said Captain Lockwood.

'Psychological blow'

Just before dawn on Saturday, British tanks and armoured infantry launched a raid into the middle of Basra in an attempt to destroy the main Saddam Hussein statue there.

Two statues were reportedly destroyed, along with six Iraqi tanks and six artillery pieces.

British military spokesman Colonel Chris Vernon said the action was designed to deliver a psychological blow to the ruling Ba'ath Party, by showing the British could operate in Basra "with a degree of impunity".

Basra has been the scene of fighting between British troops on the outskirts of the city and Iraqi forces within for several days.

On Tuesday, coalition planes dropped two bombs on the ruling Ba'ath Party headquarters in the city, reducing the building to rubble.

Fourteen Iraqi tanks were destroyed by British forces when they tried to move south out of Basra on Thursday.