NEAR NAJAF, March 26: US troops fought a fierce battle with Iraqi forces near Najaf on Wednesday for control of a bridge over the Euphrates river, a US military spokesman monitoring the clash said.

He added that an unspecified number of tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles had been destroyed by Iraqis armed with rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles during the clash at Abu Sukhayr, 20kms southeast of Najaf.

The spokesman said he believed the US crews, under the command of the Third Infantry Division, had escaped from their vehicles but their fate was unclear.

Eyewitnesses said they heard jets flying overhead. The official said air support had been called in to support the US soldiers despite poor visibility caused by a sandstorm.

In a separate clash near Nasiriyah, a US Marines supply convoy came under attack in a firefight lasting some 30 minutes.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in what the US troops called a coordinated attack carried out by unidentified assailants from several different directions.

The attack started with a sudden burst of automatic weapons fire during a routine stop that sent the troops diving for firing positions.

The attackers used machineguns, mortars and anti-tank missiles as tanks arrived to support the convoy, which was halted on a road north of Nassiriya.

“I had eight rounds come over the top of me,” one US serviceman said as the firefight ended and the convoy moved on. “You could see the muzzle flashes.”

The US convoy of some 80 vehicles was carrying fuel, food and ammunition for contingents moving towards Baghdad. US Central Command had no comment.

During the firefight, outgoing mortar rounds thudded repeatedly in the distance while jeeps mounted with launchers fired anti-tank missiles which detonated a few seconds after being fired with a bright blue flash.

Several Marine tanks rumbled along the road and into undergrowth to hunt down the attackers and the convoy resumed its journey.

The troops said a thick dust haze had made it difficult for combat helicopters that normally support the convoy to engage the attackers.

WMDs: British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Wednesday there was no sign that Iraq had used weapons of mass destruction so far in the US-led war.

“To date we have no evidence of Iraqi use of weapons of mass destruction during this campaign,” he told parliament.

But Mr Hoon said coalition experts were investigating “potential” sites of weapons of mass destruction.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also told parliament that Iraqi officials who used chemical or biological weapons would be dealt with severely.

“We are making it very clear to Iraqi commanders in the field that if there is any question of them using chemical or biological weapons, they will be prosecuted with the utmost severity and they would deserve to be so,” he said. —Reuters / AFP