FORMER Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who earned the nickname “Comical Ali”, made a sudden appearance in Abu Dhabi yesterday, saying he might not return to his homeland.

FORMER Iraqi information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who earned the nickname "Comical Ali" during the Iraq war, claimed on Arab television yesterday that he had surrendered to US troops only to be freed.

A US ARMOURED force punched into the heart of Baghdad yesterday and established a stronghold in one of President Saddam Hussein’s palaces, while troops in central Iraq found a cache of suspected Iraqi chemical weapons.

COALITION sources claimed last night that Iraq’s second largest city had finally been secured, but Iraqi forces were believed to be still resisting coalition forces.

IRAQ fired Scud missiles at Kuwait yesterday, officials said, sending US troops scrambling into chemical protective suits and setting air raid sirens blaring in Kuwait City.