US commanders have ordered a pause of four to six days in a northward push toward Baghdad because of supply shortages and stiff Iraqi resistance, the international agencies reported Saturday.

According to US officials, the "operational pause," ordered on Friday, meant that advances would be put on hold while the military tried to sort out logistics problems caused by long supply lines from neighboring Kuwait.

The main spokesman for British forces at the headquarters in Qatar said the attackers needed to prepare for a next phase but did not confirm a formal four- to six-day pause.

"I would not necessarily call it a pause," Group Captain Al Lockwood told Sky News.