US troops captured the airport with tanks and armored units against almost no opposition from Iraqi forces, the ABC television network said.

On its website the network said its correspondent, Bob Schmidt, with the 3rd Infantry Division, was standing on the tarmac of Saddam International Airport when he filed his report.

“US forces encountered very little Iraqi resistance, said Schmidt, although some units of the 3rd Infantry Division did encounter scattered firing by Iraqi foot soldiers and men in pickups,” the network said.

US troops were within 15 kilometers of downtown Baghdad and controlled the southern approaches to the capital, said Maj. Gen. Buford Blount, commander of the 20,000-strong US 3rd Infantry Division.

Saddam International Airport came under US artillery fire yesterday evening, leaving dozens killed and injured outside the capital, witnesses reported.

An Iraqi TV cameraman returning from the airport around 9:45 p.m. (1845 GMT) told correspondents in central Baghdad that he had seen incoming artillery shells and dozens of dead and wounded.

At around 8 p.m. (1700GMT), artillery fire was heard for the first time in the two-week war on the southern outskirts of the city, most of which was plunged into complete darkness following a power cut 30 minutes later.

The continuous barrage of pounding fire seemed to be coming from the southwestern Iraqi defense line, and no sounds of exploding shells were heard.

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf remained defiant however, saying that US forces were even at the gates of the capital. They were “not even 100 miles” from the city and were trapped in combat with Iraqi troops in every major town, he said.

Iraq’s Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said Baghdad would inflict a “resounding defeat on the aggressor” and called on Arabs and Muslims across the world to defend Iraq.

The sustained offensive saw US ground troops move to within striking distance of the capital on different fronts, with twin assaults from the Third Infantry and the Marines closing in from the south and southeast.

Blount said his troops controlled a key intersection south of here after heavy fighting earlier yesterday and had blocked access to the capital from the south.

US Marines were meanwhile pushing cautiously toward this city from the southeast. A correspondent with the Marines said they were in high spirits as they prepared for a decisive battle.

“We have accomplished every objective quickly and easily. I don’t think it’s a trap by the Republican Guards — they’re still trying to fight but they have no training, poor equipment and they’re very sloppy,” said one soldier.

US special forces also raided a palace used by Saddam 90 kilometers outside of here, capturing no regime officials but seizing documents.

At US Central Command in Qatar, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said the Iraqi leadership appeared unable to control its forces and population throughout much of the country.

“We can’t tell who’s in charge. I don’t think the Iraqi people know who’s in charge. We have indications the Iraqi forces don’t know who’s in charge,” he said.

As fighting continued to the south of here, the bombing of the capital intensified yesterday, killing 27 civilians according to Al-Sahaf.

A hospital source said that in one incident, eight people were killed and five wounded when a missile hit a vegetable market on the edge of the city.

The US casualty toll also continued to mount yesterday, with US Central Command saying it was investigating reports of a fresh friendly fire incident involving US troops that left one soldier dead and several others injured.

A US Patriot missile may have brought down a Navy F-18C Hornet fighter on a mission over central Iraq on Wednesday, the US military authorities said.

Meanwhile, a US officer said that about 500 Iraqi troops were killed as US forces pushed back an Iraqi bid to retake a key bridge over the Euphrates River about 30 kilometers southwest of here.

Despite the tantalizing proximity of US forces to this city, US/UK political and military leaders remained cautious, warning that “there likely will be difficult days ahead” for the coalition forces.

The whereabouts and intentions of Saddam’s elite Republican Guards remained clouded by mystery yesterday, with US officials unable to specify the amount of damage inflicted on the most loyal of Saddam’s units.

In northern Iraq, coalition air raids targeted Iraqi positions near the town of Khazer on the road to the key city of Mosul, a correspondent reported.

In the south of the country, British forces made little progress toward capturing Basra, advancing only one kilometer into the southern half of the city.

But officials said that the British forces have no immediate plans to launch an all-out offensive on the city, where 1,000 Iraqi militiamen were still holding out.