Areas of Iraq declared "liberated" by US commander General Tommy Franks will be transferred to the temporary government, which will be under the overall control of Jay Garner, the former US general appointed to head a military occupation of Iraq, the British paper said.

In anticipation of the Baghdad regime's fall, members of this interim government have begun arriving in Kuwait, the left-wing daily added.

Under the plan, each of the new government's ministries would have four Iraqi advisers appointed by Washington, the Guardian said.

It said decisions on the government's composition appeared to be entirely in US hands, particularly those of deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

This has annoyed Garner, who is officially in charge but who has had to accept a number of Iraqis favoured by Wolfowitz in advisory roles, the Guardian said.

SPACE.WIRE