WASHINGTON, March 26: Pentagon officials told journalists on Wednesday that US war planners “may have miscalculated the strength and capability” of paramilitary fighters in Iraq.

Talking to a group of reporters at the end of the first week of fighting in Iraq, Pentagon officials said coalition forces were facing stiff resistance from Saddam’s Fedayeen fighters, members of the ruling Ba’ath Party, and other paramilitary forces as they were trying to push towards Baghdad.

The Iraqi forces, the officials said, had launched several attacks on United States and British forces during the past week, considerably slowing their pace.

Pentagon officials described the Fedayeen as one of the most feared of Iraqi paramilitary groups, which had surprised coalition forces by “its willingness to die for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein,” said a Pentagon official.