War timetable moved to attempt assassination

US President George W Bush yesterday appeared to move forward his war timetable in an attempt to assassinate Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs.

America launched the attack 90 minutes after President Bush's 1am GMT deadline for Saddam to flee his country ran out.

Downing Street's initial response to the outbreak of hostilities clearly indicated the US had altered the war timetable in an effort to shorten the conflict by striking at a key command target.

Downing Street said: "The Prime Minister was informed shortly after midnight (London time) that attacks on a limited number of command and control targets was being brought forward."

A No 10 spokesman added: "As regards the involvement of British forces, he (Tony Blair) will set out the position in due course."

But there was no indication the initial onslaught involved British resources.

Sources indicated that the main campaign had yet to get under way.

They also suggested the timing of the attack was dictated by the US intelligence and military network, which had received intelligence about the location of a particular command and control target.

In Washington, an official, who described it as a "decapitation strike", said the attack on Baghdad and another target was aimed at killing Saddam at a location where he and other Iraqi leaders were located.

Another official said US forces launched a surgical military strike against a "target of opportunity" near Baghdad after US intelligence detected the possibility that Iraqi leaders were in the area.

The strikes used Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from ships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf and precision-guided bombs dropped from F-117 Nighthawks, the Air Force's stealth fighter-bombers, military officials said.