British defence officials have denied that British troops have been kidnapped in Iraq after reports from army officers stating up to five had been captured in Basra.

AN inquiry was launched yesterday after an RAF jet was shot down by US “friendly fire” in the Gulf.

An RAF Tornado jet was shot down today by a US Patriot missile battery as it overflew the Iraq-Kuwait border while returning from a mission.

Clouds of thick smoke hung over Baghdad this morning as a series of explosions sounded in the distance and US troops advanced to within 150 miles of the city.

A missing RAF aircraft returning from an operation in the Gulf may have been shot down by a US Patriot missile.

British and American troops were tightening the noose around a key city in southern Iraq tonight as Baghdad braced itself for yet another massive aerial bombardment.

Two British Royal Navy helicopters collided today over the Persian Gulf, killing the six British and one American crewmen on board, military officials said.

THE US unshackled the full fury of its military, unleashing a fearsome ‘shock and awe’ air campaign on Iraq, with the fate of Saddam Hussein still a mystery.

TRIBUTES were paid yesterday to the 12 soldiers killed when their helicopter crashed yesterday.