US forces occupied part of Baghdad’s airport before dawn today, putting them nine miles from the capital after a fierce battle with Iraqi fighters.

By Ellen Knickmeyer and Chris Tomlinson US TROOPS seized Baghdad’s international airport last night after pushing through the outskirts of the darkened capital.

Fierce bombardment of Baghdad saw a series of major explosions reverberate through the city today, igniting an inferno in the Iraqi ministry of information.

In an edgy prelude to war, Saddam Hussein has mocked a US ultimatum to surrender power, and Washington's claim of public support from 30 nations for its international coalition supporting Iraq’s disarmament.

The UN weapons inspectors today flew out of Iraq after US President George Bush issued Saddam Hussein a final ultimatum to go into exile or face war.

The chief UN arms inspectors arrived in Baghdad today for urgent talks with Iraqi officials, bearing a long list of questions about Iraq’s weapons programmes and a demand for more “active co-operation” from Saddam Hussein’s government.

The first team of UN inspectors landed in Iraq today to take up the hunt for chemical, biological or nuclear arms programs, a search whose outcome could help determine the future of peace in the Middle East.