Saddam 'likely to be safe in bunker'

The man who designed Saddam Hussein's presidential palace bunker says it was built to be nuclear-proof and is likely to withstand conventional bombing.

Karl Esser, who was a consultant to a German-led group of companies that built the Iraqi leader's shelter in the early 1980s, says he doesn't believe US bombs can destroy it.

The bunker was designed to withstand a nuclear blast 200 metres away as powerful as the bomb at Hiroshima, and temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius.

"It's very, very difficult to crack unless you hit it directly with a small atomic bomb," he said. "Normally such bunkers can only be taken by ground troops."

Mr Esser said he planned the bulk of the shelter, organising the delivery of technical equipment and making sure the bunker met Western military standards. It cost about £37.5 million, he said.