US claims 'rapid' war progress

Coalition troops are within 100 kilometres of Baghdad

The US military commander says there has been "rapid" and "dramatic" progress by coalition forces seeking to take control of Iraq.

But General Tommy Franks acknowledged continuing stiff resistance in various battlefields and the loss of more US soldiers and equipment.

These included the two-men crew of an Apache helicopter brought down in Karbala - a holy site about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad.

Iraqi television has shown pictures of two men it described as the pilots.

The images - which the US says violate regulations on war - were shown as more explosions shook the outskirts of Baghdad in the latest air raids on the city.

The BBC's Paul Wood says the latest blasts were different from previous explosions - an indication that B-52 aircraft may be dropping huge payloads on Iraqi troops.

'In charge'

General Franks was speaking after Iraqi television broadcast a rallying call from President Saddam Hussein to what he called his nation's "brave and heroic" people.

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said later that the regime's leadership was "in good shape" and Saddam Hussein was "in full control of the army and the country".

IRAQ CAMPAIGN Map: Military operations Iraq's Republican Guard

Correspondents say General Franks, the commander of the US-led invasion, gave a deliberately upbeat assessment.

"Progress toward our objectives has been rapid and in some cases dramatic," he told a news conference.

And in London, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament: "There are bound to be difficult days ahead, but the strategy and its timing are proceeding according to plan."

He said US forces had reached Karbala.

"It is a little way from there that they will encounter the Medina division of the Republican Guard who are defending the route to Baghdad. This will be a crucial moment."

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The BBC's Michael Voss says there are believed to be three brigades of the elite Republican Guards between Karbala and Baghdad.

They were subjected to sustained air attacks throughout Monday. One attack involved between 30 and 40 US helicopter gunships, US officials said.

New alerts

General Franks said there was now military action throughout Iraq.

Reported operations include:

• US forces intensifying their assault on the key crossroads town of Nasiriya where there has been fierce fighting for control of two bridges on the invasion route from Kuwait to Baghdad

• British units opening fire with artillery on the southern city of Basra after what UK officials said were attacks by Iraqi forces. Iraqi officials say 77 civilians were killed.

• Guerrilla attacks by Iraqi forces dressed in civilian clothes around the strategic port of Umm Qasr

• Bombardments of Iraqi positions on the front between Kirkuk and the Kurdish-controlled town of Chamchamal

• Sniper attacks on British units in the south and around the Rumeila oilfields which are no longer considered safe

• US, UK and Australian special forces soldiers active in the west of Iraq

General Franks said the continued, though "sporadic", resistance was to have been expected.

He said coalition forces had now taken 3,000 Iraqi soldiers prisoner and that many others had deserted.

In addition, half the channel leading to Umm Qasr had been cleared of mines, which would open the way for the humanitarian relief operation promised by US President George W Bush.

UK soldier killed

General Franks said he could not provide any update on coalition troops killed or taken prisoner by Iraq.

But a UK military spokesman said British forces had suffered their first combat loss when a soldier was killed in al-Zubayr, south-west of Basra, on Monday.

In his second televised address since the outbreak of war, Saddam Hussein said Iraqi forces were inflicting heavy losses on the invading units.

The enemies are in real trouble now Saddam Hussein Saddam speech excerpts

The Iraqi leader, looking relaxed and confident, promised that victory over US and British forces was near.

"Victory will be ours soon," he said. "Iraqis will strike the necks as God has commanded you."

At one stage, he read out a roll call of honour naming individual commanders and their locations, such as the southern port of Umm Qasr.

But coalition officials - including UK Defence Minister Geoff Hoon - said the apparent references to recent events did not necessarily mean Saddam Hussein was alive.

Angry reactions

The US has meanwhile reacted angrily to Iraqi television footage showing the bodies of several American soldiers and their wrecked vehicles, and interviews with five captured survivors - one of them a woman.

HAVE YOUR SAY A new government for Iraq is just around the corner Fredley Sisimia, Honiara, Solomon Islands Read more of your comments

Iraq's Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Sahaf on Monday said the prisoners would be treated according to the Geneva Conventions.

Iraq says 62 civilians have been killed and more than 400 wounded in various cities in the past 24 hours.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said he had been warned by the International Red Cross that "the people in Basra may be facing a humanitarian disaster".

Water and electricity supplies have been disrupted there since Saturday.