like they are using big bombs, they are really causing a shudder," she said.

As the war entered its third week, Baghdad and its outskirts had been heavily bombed overnight. The Iraqi information minister accused U.S. forces of killing 14 people with cluster bombs.

US special forces raided a palace used by President Saddam Hussein 90 kilometres outside of Baghdad, capturing no regime officials but seizing documents, a senior US commander said yesterday.

The latest advances followed an abrupt punch forward on Wednesday, when U.S. forces surged past the towns of Karbala and Kut and captured key bridges over the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, preparing the way for an assault on Saddam's stronghold.

US military claimed to have "effectively destroyed" two of the six Republican Guard divisions guarding Baghdad. Iraq denied this, saying morale was high.

Kurdish advance

repelled

In northern Iraq, Kurdish fighters, backed by small groups of US soldiers, advanced toward the northern oil town of Mosul on Thursday but were met by heavy machinegun and rifle fire.

Iraqi troops were firing mortar rounds at the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who had taken cover by the roadside.

Smart bombs

on Baghdad

Early yesterday, US planes pounded targets around Baghdad, continuing a relentless campaign of air strikes.

"It was one of the worst nights of bombing so far in Baghdad and on the outskirts. There was the sound of warplanes all night," said Reuters correspondent Nadim Ladki.

US war headquarters in Qatar said planes dropped almost 40 "smart bombs" overnight on just one military storage facility in the Karkh district of Baghdad.

US forces would like to avoid street fighting in Baghdad, which might take a heavy toll in military and civilian casualties. But planners believe this prospect is increasingly likely as Saddam prepares to stage his last stand in the city.

Frontline

situation

Reuters correspondent Sean Maguire said U.S. forces bombarded Kut on the Tigris, about 105 miles south of Baghdad, yesterday, consolidating their hold on the area.

Further south, US troops edged forward in the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Najaf, searching for paramilitary

Fedayeen fighters, and tightened their grip on Nassiriyah, where they appeared to fully control bridges over the Euphrates.

In the far south, British forces surrounding Iraq's second city of Basra edged into the outskirts early yesterday, capturing an industrial complex where Iraqi militia had spearheaded fierce resistance.