US discovers 'training camp'

US Marines have discovered a camp suspected as an Iraqi training base for terrorists.

The rusted shell of an old passenger jet sat in a field at Salman Pak, 20 miles south of Baghdad, which the US claims was probably used for hijacking practice.

Saddam Hussein’s regime has said the camp, part of a larger military compound, was used for anti-terrorism training by Iraqi special forces.

US officials have long suspected the camp trained terrorists.

Hours after Marines occupied the base on Sunday morning, a tour of the compound revealed a series of curious sights.

Plastic chairs were bolted to the ground facing each other, creating a kind of classroom in a clearing in the woods.

A nearby store room was filled with gas masks and Baath Party plaques.

Further along, speedboats lay beached in the shade of a tree.