Twelve US and British soldiers became the first casualties of war for the invading forces after their helicopter crashed as the US-led troops advanced into southern Iraq, crossing the desert border from Kuwait under cover of an intense artillery barrage.

According to CNN , the Pentagon officials confirmed that eight British military personnel and four American crew members perished in the crash.

Earlier, Washington Post reported, the US Marine helicopter crash killed 12 American and four Britons while "conducting operations related to the campaign against Iraq".

A military official was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying that the "helicopter has gone down in the area of operations."

The accident took place about 16 kilometers south of the Iraqi border.

As the war entered into its second day, US and British forces sent advance troops into southern Iraq ahead of a full-scale invasion. They were met with some resistance from Iraqi troops.

CNN showed footage of the Army's 7th Cavalry rolling through southern Iraq, ahead of the 3rd Infantry Division.

Reports also said that the British Royal Marine Commandos had crossed the border, with hundreds of British troops had attacking "Red Beach" o­n the Al Faw peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf. Later in the day, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed that its troops have secured the Faw Peninsula, Iraq's o­nly Persian Gulf coast.

Oil wells o­n fire

Reuters

reported that big explosions were heard from the direction of Basra. The occupation of Iraq's southern city of Basra will be an important early objective of the ground invasion.

Other reports also stated that US missiles struck areas in southern Iraq while helicopter gunships fired at ground targets.

At present about 280,000 US and British troops are in the Gulf region, many of them in Kuwait, poised to invade Iraq.

The Kuwaiti news agency reported that the US-led troops had captured the Iraqi border town of Umm Qasr. And according to a CBS radio report, a number of Iraqi troops, who had been laying a minefield, surrendered to US Marines who had just crossed into Iraq.

Reuters

also reported that the United States and Britain blasted targets in Baghdad with cruise missiles late yesterday, setting government buildings o­n fire.

"One of the targets struck was Saddam's main Baghdad palace complex o­n the banks of the Tigris River. Another housed an office of Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz," said the report.

Meanwhile, Associated Press reported that Iraq may have set fire to three or four oil wells in south Iraq.