The Pentagon announced that it will deploy an additional 120,000 troops to the Persian Gulf region after President George W Bush said the war in Iraq would last "however long it takes to win".

A CNN report today said about 20,000 soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division - based at Fort Hood, Texas - were expected to be deployed this weekend while two armoured divisions and other units were expected to arrive by early April.

Iraqi Information Minister Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf said Baghdad would be the "graveyard" of coalition forces and they would lose "even if they bring double American troops."

In southern Iraq, 12 US marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were listed as missing while 14 more were wounded as fighting raged aound Nasiriya.

Bombed again

Meanwhile, bombs continued to rain o­n Baghdad with some of the strongest explosions being heard in the capital city about 11pm last night. (4am Malaysian time today)

The US Central Command in Qatar said Tomahawk cruise missiles and strikes from aircraft took out a major communications center and another command center.

CNN

said the International Communications Centre appeared to be o­n fire. The site in the heart of Baghdad operated part of Iraq's phone system.

Iraq's Health Minister Umid Midhat Mubarak said yesterday that more than 350 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the war so far.

"Women and children are being attacked, as soldiers are being attacked," he said

In another development, Iraqi Defence Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed said that coalition forces could surround the capital city within five of 10 days but warned that they would face street-by-street fighting.

Hub of activity

In northern Iraq, US troops, tanks and equipment of the 1st Infantry Division were being airlifted into Kurdish-controlled area after about 1,000 paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade landed there yesterday and secured the Harir airfield near Bashur.

According to reports, the airfield is now a hub of activity, with C-130 and C-17 cargo planes arriving, unloading cargo and taking off again.

In central Iraq, CNN reported that six men believed to be couriers for the paramilitary group Saddam Fedayeen surrendered to members of the 101st Airborne Division after they became disoriented in a sandstorm and were surrounded by US troops.

A military official said the men - who were not in uniform - carried a large sum of US currency and instructions that may have been meant for Baath party leaders in a nearby town.

In the south, after being engaged in a constant firefight for 72 hours, the 3rd Squadron - 7th US Cavalry - received reinforcements and a chance to go to the back of the line for a short respite.

B-52 bombers and ground-based artillery smashed an Iraqi convoy overnight before it could reach the troops northeast of Najaf, about 100km south of Baghdad.

However, Iraq's defence minister provided a different version, claiming that US forces tried to encircle Najaf but failed to do so when they "sustained heavy casualties".

UN walkout

At a United Nations Security Council meeting yesterday, the US delegation staged a walkout when Iraq's UN ambassador Mohamed Aldouri accused US and Britain of "criminal, barbaric" behavior and military aggression "that is killing women, children and the elderly and destroys the life and the future of the people of Iraq.

Speaking to reporters later, US Ambassador John Negroponte said: "I'd heard enough. ... I didn't hear anything new and of course don't accept any of the kinds of allegations and preposterous positions that he put forward."

Germany's ambassador Gunter Pleuger said the security council will vote today o­n a plan to resume Iraq's oil-for-food programme.