US marines and Iraqi soldiers are locked in an intense battle for the town of Samawah o­n the way to Baghdad, said a report today.

According to a BBC report, the marines have used heavy guns and tank shells as well as Apache helicopters to try to dislodge an estimated 1,500 Fedayeen fighters who are guarding a bridge across the Euphrates river.

The network's correspondent Gavin Hewitt, who is travelling with the troops, said US needs to capture the town to secure its supply routes as its forces move north.

In the north, the hundreds of American troops who parachuted into Kurdistan-controlled territory have taken control of a key airfield 50km north-east of the city of Irbil.

Meanwhile, UK forces pounded a column of Iraqi tanks and armoured vehicles south of Basra.

British Challenger tanks destroyed 14 Iraqi T-55 tanks, UK military sources at Central Command in Qatar told the BBC .

It is not clear if the column was retreating from Iraq's second city after reports of an uprising there or if it was launching an offensive against US and UK troops.

Civilian casualties

In a related development, Iraqi Health Minister Omid Medhat Mubarak today said more than 350 Iraqi civilians had died since the war began just over a week ago.

He accused the US of having bombed a shopping area yesterday, killing at least 14 civilians in the residential area of Shaab

The US - which says it is doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties - does not admit responsibility for the deaths.

A US military spokesperson at coalition Central Command said: "Our early intelligence report provides no conclusive evidence that we have caused the damage in the civilian marketplace.

"One possibility and high probability is that it was caused from the fallout from the regime's anti-aircraft fire."

But BBC 's Andrew Gilligan in Baghdad said that explanation was "unlikely because we simply haven't heard any anti-aircraft fire in the city for the past four days".

The US military admitted using precision-guided weapons to target Iraqi missiles and launchers which it says were hidden in a residential area less than 100m from homes.

Victims of friendly fire

Scores of United States marines were injured when their forces fired o­n each other around the city of Nasiriyah today, said a report.

Bernama-AFX

said a correspondent with the troops reported that the command post headquarters was apparently hit with shell and mortar fire leaving 37 wounded, including three in critical and two in serious condition.

The AFP correspondent saw at least six vehicles destroyed in the compound, including three truck transporters, two Humvee all-terrain vehicles and o­ne truck-mounted crane.

Officers said the headquarters compound returned fire but casualty reports from the other side were not immediately available.

A US Central Command spokesman in Qatar said the incident was being investigated but he could not provide any further details.

"We've heard about that, " he said.

Impose sanctions

In a another development, Iraqi ambassador to Malaysia Kais S.A. Al-Yacoubi said today that efforts are underway to ask the United Nations to impose "sanctions" o­n US and Britain.

Speaking to Bernama , the envoy said several countries were discussing the matter but he declined to name them.

"Some diplomats are talking about asking the UN to impose sanctions against America and Britain because of waging the war which is illegal. I am sure America and Britain are exposed to the punishment by the United Nations," he said.

Asked to elaborate o­n the type of sanctions to be proposed, he declined to specify them.

"I can't specify...I prefer to wait and see. More people are being killed everyday and that will bring more support from people and the countries against the brutal war," he said.

They (the countries) are looking into the United Nations Charter o­n the possibility of what can be used because (so far) there's no punishment (on those waging war o­n Iraq)," he was quoted as saying.