Al-Jazeera television today aired video footage which it said was of a British and two American hostages.

An Iraqi hotel receptionist who died after a beating from British troops is among the victims in abuse allegations highlighted in the leaked Red Cross report, published in full today.

SUICIDE boat bombings targeting the key oil industry have forced the closure of Iraq’s biggest terminal, losing the country nearly one million barrels a day in exports, oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulloum said yesterday.

Suicide boat bombings targeting Iraq’s key oil industry in the Gulf forced the closure of two major terminals in the Gulf for several hours, but the facilities resumed work loading tankers today, Iraq’s top oil marketing official said.

Suicide attackers detonated explosive-laden boats near oil facilities in the Gulf, killing two US Navy sailors in a new tactic against Iraq’s vital oil industry.

Suicide bombers tonight used terrifying new tactics to strike at Iraq’s vital oil installations close to the British held city of Basra.

TWO US soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Baghdad and a city to the west, the military reported yesterday. A third was reported to have died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in a separate incident.

British forces were patrolling at petrol stations in the southern Iraqi city of Basra today after a series of clashes with residents angry about increased fuel prices and power cuts.

The US has acknowledged mistakenly releasing a former Iraqi official accused of being involved in the murder of thousands of Iraqi Shiites.

Prime Minister Tony Blair flew by helicopter to the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr today – as he continued his tour of British forces in the region.

A former top official of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard, and cousin of the deposed leader, surrendered to coalition forces in Baghdad today, the US military said.

HEAVILY-ARMED US Army forces stormed into a village near the northern city of Tikrit before dawn yesterday, seizing more than 260 prisoners, including one man on the most-wanted list of former Iraqi officials.

British forces formally turned over control of the port of Umm Qasr to a civilian government today, the first such hand over since the war ended.

THE prospect of a share in the vast project to rebuild Iraq has heightened the anticipation of many companies. Some estimates put the cost of reconstruction as high as $100 billion.

British defence Secretary Geoff Hoon today promised to bring British troops home from Iraq “as quickly as possible”.

US and British forces have released 887 Iraqi prisoners, but continue to hold 7,000 others as they sort through those captured in the month-long war in Iraq, the Pentagon said yesterday.

THE United States Marine who sparked controversy when he draped an American flag over a statue of Saddam Hussein said he was “egged on”

US FORCES in Iraq grappled with looting and civil disorder, scattered gunfights, the murder of a Shi’ite religious leader and a suicide bomb attack that took American lives last night, one day after the euphoria that marked the end of Saddam Hussein’s rule.

The United States marine who sparked controversy when he draped an American flag over a giant statue of Saddam Hussein said today he was “egged on” by local people.

The first International Red Cross convoy carrying medical supplies today reached Basra, the charity said.

British forces in southern Iraq found 56 missiles and four launchers, removing a “significant threat” from Saddam Hussein’s armoury, military officials said.

WITH US ground forces closing in fast, Saddam Hussein last night exhorted the Iraqi people to “fight them with your hands,” according to a statement on Iraqi satellite television.

Power brokers in Saddam Hussein’s notorious Baath Party are still trying to influence the freed people of Umm Qasr, the British colonel responsible for running the town said today.

US Marines today shot dead an unarmed Iraqi at a checkpoint hours after seven women and children were killed by American troops who fired at a van which failed to stop in southern Iraq.

THE port of Umm Qasr is not only strategic for the coalition forces attempting to oust Saddam Hussein, it is vital to the very future of the town.

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.

POWER returned to the homes of Umm Qasr yesterday for the first time since the outbreak of war.

TWO Kenyan truck drivers kidnapped 10 days ago outside the town of Al Zubayr were rescued yesterday when British troops burst into the school in which they were being been held.

Power returned to the homes of Umm Qasr today for the first time since the outbreak of war.

IRAQIS said more than 50 people were killed yesterday in an air raid on a Baghdad market after the United States unleashed some of the heaviest air strikes of the war on the capital.

The first shipment of aid for Iraqi civilians docked at the port of Umm Qasr today.

Long-awaited aid was expected to arrive in southern Iraq today, after allied forces laid siege to Basra following a tank battle victory.

Developments in the war on Iraq in the last 24 hours.

Coalition bombers battered Baghdad again today, hitting a major communications centre and one of Saddam Hussein’s presidential palaces in one of the heaviest bombardments for days.

The first aid shipment was finally due to arrive in Iraq tomorrow amid mounting concern about a humanitarian crisis.

The first humanitarian aid shipment bound for Iraq has been delayed by 24 hours.

THE first sizeable relief convoy arrived in southern Iraq yesterday as the allies struggled to clear the way for more aid shipments.

ROYAL Marine Commando Eric Walderman has a reason to smile.

The first sizeable relief convoy set out for Iraq in a biting sandstorm today as allied forces struggled to clear the way for more aid shipments, using dolphins to remove mines from waterways and hunting Iraqi fighters around the port of Umm Qasr.

MAKAI and Tacoma, two bottle-nosed Atlantic dolphins, were flown into Iraq by the US Navy last night, the latest weapon deployed by Allied Forces against Saddam Hussein.

THE Iraqi port of Umm Qasr was yesterday declared secure following sweeps by Royal Marine commandos, paving the way for the first deliveries of aid to Iraqi civilians.

Iraqi forces have turned their fire on a popular uprising by civilians in Basra, it was reported tonight.

The Iraqi port of Umm Qasr was today declared secure following sweeps by Royal Marine commandos, paving the way for the first deliveries of aid to Iraqi civilians.

Thousands of US Marines rumbled north toward Baghdad today, taking safer dirt roads to avoid cities and towns where they could face Iraqi resistance.