Troops in race towards Baghdad

Clouds of thick smoke hung over Baghdad today as a series of explosions sounded in the distance.

Meanwhile, US troops advanced to within 100 miles of the city.

The explosions - the latest of daily aerial bombardments by US-led forces - appeared to come from the outskirts of the capital.

At least some of the smoke came from fires that residents said were set to conceal targets in the city.

Iraqi information minister Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf said 503 people were injured in air strikes yesterday, including 106 in Baghdad and 366 in the southern city of Basra.

He also said 77 civilians were killed in Basra, where allied forces captured the airport and a key bridge.

Iraqi state television reported that air strikes also hit the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown.

Al-Arabiya, the Arab satellite television news channel, reported that four people were killed in those attacks.

Allied troops raced through the desert more than halfway to Baghdad, and American commanders said Saddam's regime was losing control. But Iraqi officials insisted their situation was brighter.

Al-Sahhaf praised what he described as heroic resistance by Iraqis in the southern port town of Umm Qasr, where allied forces engaged in street-to-street fighting against guerrillas, including members of Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen, the Baath Party paramilitary organisation.

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