WASHINGTON, Oct 31: The Iraqi resistance is planning a major offensive against the US-led coalition in Iraq and the attacks may start as early as this weekend, US newspapers reported on Friday.

Reports published in several newspapers point out that correspondents in Baghdad have been hearing for the last few days that a major attack on US and coalition forces is imminent.

The attack will be led by remnants of the Iraqi Baath Party who will receive support from the foreign fighters who have entered Iraq to join the Jihad against US troops, reports say.

Some reports quoted US officials as saying that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, vice-chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and one-time deputy commander of the Iraqi armed forces, was now leading the resistance.

Al-Douri, a former army general who rose to the highest ranks of the ruling Baath Party, was a long-time confidant of President Saddam Hussein. His daughter was married to Saddam’s son, Uday, who was killed in July.

In more specific terms, word on the street has it that hundreds of armed insurgents are planning to attack the palace where US administrator Paul Bremer is headquartered, secured behind concrete walls, concertina wire, and Abram M1-A1 tanks and heavy machine guns.

The reports also point out that the Aug 19 blast that killed 23 people at the United Nations headquarters at the Canal Hotel, including the secretary-general’s special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, was not carried out haphazardly. The exact placement and timing of the bomb was planned to cause maximum damage and casualties. The attackers, it is believed, benefited from inside information.

Similarly, the Oct 26 rocket attack on the al-Rashid Hotel where Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz was staying was by no means a coincidence. Mr Wolfowitz, it was reported, was housed on the 12th floor of the hotel. The attackers hit the 11th. If one had to guess the reason they missed, it would be more likely due to bad aim rather than faulty information.

Mr Wolfowitz’s visit to the Iraqi capital was not widely advertised. In fact, not many people knew about it, and particularly, not many people in Baghdad. Certainly not those outside the immediate circle of people who needed to know. Yet the attack, which must have taken weeks to plan, prepare and implement, almost hit its intended target.