Saddam’s elite Republican Guard is waiting at Baghdad

IT may be a shadow of its former self, but Iraq's Republican Guard is still a combat-hardened force. And it stands at the gates to Baghdad.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoken of a crucial moment when the US 5th Corps runs into the Republican Guard's 2nd Medina Division at a red line near Kerbala south of the capital, a clash that may be just days away.

But what firepower do the Guards have? And will they fight?