Difficult days ahead warns Blair

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair last night said coalition forces were preparing for “a crucial moment” when they take on the Medina Division of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard in the battle for Baghdad.

Mr Blair told MPs that allied forces were now parked 60 miles south of the Iraqi capital, near the town of Karbala.

"It is a little way from there that they will encounter the Medina Division of the Republican Guard who are defending the route to Baghdad. This will be a crucial moment," he said.