Iraqi civilians have torn up and spat at portraits of Saddam Hussein in multiple acts against the Saddam regime in Baghdad today.

PRELIMINARY tests on substances found at a military training camp in central Iraq suggest they may contain a cocktail of banned chemical weapons, including deadly nerve agents, US officers said last night.

US forces were just six miles from Baghdad today as the battle to topple Saddam Hussein entered a critical phase.

US FORCES in southern Iraq are braced for their biggest battle yet on the road to Baghdad – an expected clash near the Shi’ite holy city of Kerbala with elements of Iraq’s Republican Guard.