ADF spokesman Mike Hannan said navy divers were continuing their work, but "there is about a further week of work to be done in the clearance of the waterways and port".

He said coalition forces were on heightened alert for the use of biological or chemical weapons as they closed in on Baghdad, and that they were also prepared the deal with the consequences of a swift victory in the capital.

"One of the things the military does plan for is what they call in military jargon 'catastrophic success,'" he said.

"You can have success too quickly and be unprepared for it, just as you need to be prepared for setbacks and there are plans in place for that -- the main aim being to secure and make sure that the Iraqi people, the Iraqi population, is properly catered for so we don't create a huge refugee and humanitarian problem along the way."

Hannan said Australian SAS forces continued to operate deep inside Iraq, with the past 24 hours being very busy for Australian planes.

He said Australian C-130 Hercules planes had flown supply missions into Iraq to support coalition ground forces and F/A-18 Hornets had flown missions to protect advancing coalition forces in Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE