No uprising against Saddam in Basra, say Iraqi officials

IRAQI officials have denied any uprising in Basra, but they say it has been the scene for the most civilian casualties — with 116 people killed and 659 hurt since the war began.

In northern Iraq, up to 10,000 Kurdish peshmerga guerrillas aided by American forces have overrun the headquarters of an Islamic militant group, the Ansar al-Islam. Hours later, Iraqi forces fired missiles at the Kurdish-controlled town of Chamchamal, 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Kirkuk, in apparent retaliation, reports from the area say.

Near-constant bomb attacks on Baghdad continued throughout the day following a night of intense bombardment, with the first use of two satellite-guided “bunker-busting” bombs by the US military aimed at communications centres. Iraqi officials said seven people died and 92 were injured in the overnight raids. Other military developments:

Kurdish fighters say they have crossed into Iraqi Government-controlled territory, advancing to within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of Kirkuk.

General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the British military’s general staff, says Iraqi forces are “pinned down” in the south.

An additional 120,000 US troops are being sent to the Gulf.

Attacks with artillery and helicopter gunships were renewed on the strategically important central town of Nasiriya.

The deputy director of operations for the US, Brigadier-General Vince Brooks, said special forces had destroyed two paramilitary headquarters in Nasiriya and operations were continuing to “eliminate identified terrorist death squads”.

Both US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have warned that there may not be a swift end to the conflict, though they say an eventual coalition victory is not in doubt.