Coalition forces in Iraq have started their push to strike at the heart of Saddam Hussein's regime by attacking Iraqi troops near the city of Baghdad.

Following five days of strategic bombing raids on the Iraqi capital, US helicopter gunships and war planes have attacked Republican Guard positions outside the city.

However, the coalition faced tough resistance as they opened an assault on Republican Guards defending the approaches to Baghdad.

Earlier, American TV networks claimed intelligence sources told them that troops around Baghdad could be authorised to use chemical weapons if other means of defence appear to be failing.

American Secretary of State Colin Powell described the progress of US-led forces in Iraq as rather remarkable and says the US campaign will be successfully finished in the not-too-distant future.

British support for the war in Iraq increases to 54% of the population, according to an ICM survey for The Guardian newspaper carried out in the days since hostilities started. Thirty percent of those polled were opposed to the war.