The allies' main assault was likely to start in southwestern Baghdad with an initial strike to breach the lines of Iraq's elite Medina Division north of Karbala and head on to the capital, the paper said.

The major US-led offensive would have air cover from RAF Harriers and Tornados and the US air force's F15 "Strike Eagles," A10 "Tankbusters" and Apache attack helicopters, the paper said.

The report came as huge explosions again rocked Baghdad on late Tuesday and US-led forces engaged in major battles with the Iraqi Republican Guard south of the city.

Earlier reports quoted a senior US defense official as saying that US troops had fought Iraq's elite Republican Guard near Karbala, about 80 kilometers south of Baghdad.

The Guardian newspaper also quoted senior military officials assaying that the battle for Baghdad was "imminent."

Heavy fighting raged as US army units battled parts of the Medina Division of the Republican Guard, Iraq's best trained and equipped forces which are guarding the approaches to Baghdad, the paper said.

Earlier Tuesday, Tomahawk cruise missiles and airstrikes pounded Medina Division positions near Karbala and the Pentagon claimed that bombing had reduced the Medina Division to 50 percent of its fighting strength, the paper added.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2003)