MARCH 17, 2003: US President George Bush gives Saddam Hussein 48-hour deadline to give up power.

Three car bombs exploded in quick succession in a southern Iraqi city today, killing at least 41 people and injuring 150.

Rescuers dug through the muddy wreckage of collapsed clay houses in north-west Iraq today, uncovering at least 200 bodies from suicide truck bombings the US military blamed on al-Qaida.

A car bomb exploded in a crowded market in a town in north-west Iraq today, killing 30 Iraqis and wounding 35.

The US military launched a major combat operation with 1,000 Marines and Iraqi soldiers today in north-western Iraq.