LONDON, March 31: Twelve days into the Iraq war, not one senior Iraqi politician or military commander has defected from President Saddam Hussein’s regime, British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon acknowledged on Monday.

“After 12 days, we are making steady progress in achieving our objectives in Iraq,” said Mr Hoon as he fielded questions in the House of Commons on the US-led invasion of Iraq.

But he acknowledged: “There have been as yet no defections of very senior politicians or very senior military commanders.”

QATAR: British commandos captured five senior Iraqi officers in an a clash with Iraqi paramilitaries near Basra on Sunday but none of them was a general as had been initially reported, a British military spokeswoman said here Monday.