COALITION forces were last night poised to take the strategic city of Basra as the war against Saddam Hussein looked like entering a new phase.

As Allied troops established their positions throughout the day, one British military spokesman said they could be on the streets of Baghdad within three to four days.

Troops were poised to invade Iraq today as US President George W Bush’s deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq by 1am on Thursday drew near.

Police in Italy were today questioning 28 Pakistani terrorist suspects and carrying out further searches on the flat where a ringed photograph of Britain’s Chief of Defence staff, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, was found.

THE gulf between the Anglo-American axis and hitherto close allies over the looming war in Iraq grew wider yesterday despite attempts to cool down the festering feud.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair today spent an hour closeted with senior military advisers discussing the fall of Kabul and the dramatic collapse of the Taliban.

A British military leader has said the Afghan campaign could last 50 years. Admiral Michael Boyce says it is the most difficult military operation since the Cold War.

British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon warned today that it may be too dangerous to send ground troops into Afghanistan if the Taliban regime collapsed in chaos.