Coalition forces were tonight poised to take the strategic city of Basra as the war against Saddam Hussein looked to enter a new phase.
US and British forces were on the "outskirts of Basra itself" as much of southern Iraq came under the control of allied forces, Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Michael Boyce said.
Meanwhile, a wave of B-52 bombers, which left RAF Fairford earlier today, was heading for Iraq as US military sources promised the heaviest night of bombardments so far.
Sir Michael told reporters at a briefing in London: "It is very early days, but I have to say the coalition progress so far has been promising.
"I think our people have performed admirably on land, on sea and in the air and I am very encouraged by the start we have made."
He revealed the key port town of Umm Qasr had fallen into coalition hands while oil fields on the Kuwaiti border had also been captured by allied troops.
The US regimental combat team pushing towards Basra was covered by two battle groups of the UK 7th Armoured Brigade, the Black Watch and the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Sir Michael said: "The leading elements of that formation are now on the outskirts of Basra itself.
"On the way, they have seen a lot of evidence of large-scale Iraqi capitulation, evidenced by abandoned positions and items of equipment."
The US 3rd Infantry Division had made "cracking progress" and had now penetrated more than 150km inside Iraq's borders en route for Baghdad, said Sir Michael.
He added that Specialist British Units have now reached the River Euphrates. "All the key components of the southern oil fields are now safe." Sir Michael explained that seizing the oil wells was regarded as a vital goal, in order to prevent their sabotage by the Iraqi leadership, which might use the thick clouds of black smoke from burning wells in an effort to impede coalition progress.
The coalition also hopes to avoid the massive environmental damage which sabotage could cause and to preserve Iraq's oil infrastructure for the benefit of the country's people, he said.
It now appears that only seven oil heads had been torched by the Iraqis in the region, rather than the 30 that were feared earlier in the day.
Sir Michael said: "We are absolutely determined not to allow Saddam Hussein to do more damage to the lives of his people through some sort of scorched earth policy."
PA