US troops poised for battle as advance on Baghdad gathers pace

US MARINES and infantry moved with surprising speed toward Baghdad yesterday, passing down roads littered with black combat boots as Saddam Hussein’s loyalists shed their uniforms and switched to tribal robes hoping to avoid capture.

Scores of blown-up Iraqi vehicles and dozens of dead bodies lined the roads where the Iraqis had built fighting positions. The dead were in uniform though it was unclear whether they were Republican Guard or regular army units.

Dozens of Iraqi soldiers have surrendered. In London, British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said coalition forces were holding more than 9,000 Iraqi prisoners of war. "Do not underestimate the task that still faces our forces or the length of time that it may take to complete," he said of the imminent battle for Baghdad.