Paras dropped into north Iraq

Coalition paratroopers today seized an airfield in northern Iraq to open the way to a second front in the war against Saddam Hussein.

Around 1,000 soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade were securing the 6,700ft airstrip outside the town of Bashur in Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Iraq. The airstrip is long enough to be used by C-17s and other US military cargo planes.

Several hundred special forces troops from Britain, the US and other coalition countries are already thought to be operating in the area, with missions including spotting targets for missile

attacks.

Several large explosions were reported in cities in northern Iraq and journalists in Baghdad said they counted at least 30 explosions overnight.

Iraqi convoy scattered

In southern Iraq, a convoy of up to 120 vehicles was said to be heading south east out of Basra towards the Al Faw peninsula, in an apparent counter-attack described by British military commanders as "madness".

Coalition jets and artillery opened fire on the column of Soviet-built T55 tanks, Type 59 artillery pieces and armoured personnel carriers, destroying some vehicles and forcing others to scatter, according to reports.

RAF Harrier ground attack jets and US Navy F-18 Super Hornets dropped precision-guided munitions and cluster bombs, while 155mm AS90 heavy artillery from 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, and 105mm light field guns from 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, opened fire from the ground.

Conflicting reports emerged of Iraqi troop movements to the south of the capital.

Reports last night identified two columns of up to 1,000 vehicles of Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard heading for direct confrontations with the US 3rd Infantry Division near Najaf and the Marines between Al Kut and Nasiriyah.

CNN reporter Walter Rodgers, embedded with the US 7th Cavalry which led the charge towards the Iraqi capital, said last night that US troops were preparing for a possible confrontation within hours and air strikes had been called in.

However, early this morning US military spokesman Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told journalists in Qatar: "We've not seen any significant movements of the type of force described."

He said there had been "local positionings and survival positionings" of various Iraqi units.

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