US FORCES said it may take some time to determine whether Saddam Hussein was killed in a bombing raid on a restaurant where he was believed to be meeting with his sons.

US FORCES, using fearsome air power, smashed through elite Iraqi divisions to within 20 miles of Baghdad last night in the swiftest advance of the war to date.

THE International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said yesterday it had begun visiting Iraqi prisoners of war held by US-led forces near the southern town of Umm Qasr.