US forces on the move towards Iraq

US and British armoured units today moved up to forward positions on the Kuwaiti-Iraq border, awaiting the final order to advance.

US and British armoured units today moved up to forward positions on the Kuwaiti-Iraq border, awaiting the final order to advance.

British and US warplanes tonight attacked Iraqi artillery positions as thousands of coalition troops stood poised for battle.

The Ministry of Defence described the airstrikes across the Kuwaiti border into the southern "no fly" zone as "standard 'no fly' zone" activity".

"We are targeting systems which are a threat to our forces," a MoD spokeswoman said.

It was unclear whether the attacks were the precursor to the main coalition onslaught - expected to open with a massive aerial bombardment.

Up to 17 Iraqi soldiers surrendered at the Kuwaiti border today. Jim Wilkinson, a spokesman for US Central Command in Qatar, said he understood there were two surrenders ? one in which 15 Iraqis gave themselves up and the other in which two did.

They surrendered around nightfall and were taken into the custody of Kuwait authorities.

Advanced US forces were already reported to have entered the demilitarised zone separating Iraq and Kuwait.

Throughout the day final preparations were being made by troops across the whole of the Gulf region, which saw a severe sandstorm of blinding grit and dust.

RAF and Army servicemen and women posted their final letters and made last calls home before communication lines were shut down.

At secret briefings generals and intelligence experts studied 11th-hour reports of Iraqi troop movements.

Latest intelligence reports indicate troops on the ground could face a last-ditch chemical weapons assault from Saddam Hussein's desperate regime.

British service personnel have now been ordered to carry protective anti-chemical warfare suits, as well as respirators, with them at all times.

In northern Iraq strategic motorways have been taken over by the military.

All night long American supply helicopters could be heard moving ever more men and material up to "jumping off" points just north of Camp Fox in northern Kuwait.

In Britain there were also visible signs of war. US B-52 bombers at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire were being made ready. The bombers can deliver a payload of cruise missiles on Baghdad within six hours of taking off.