No bombing or fighting were visible at the airport, which lies 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the centre of Baghdad.

"The airport is safe," airport manager Muafiq Abdullah al-Jaburi told journalists escorted there by the information ministry.

US military officials said earlier in the day that US troops leading an advance on Baghdad had moved near the Iraqi capital's airport.

"I can confirm they're outside the airport," said Major Randi Steffy, a spokeswoman for the US Central Command in Qatar.

US commanders reported a breakthrough Wednesday in their campaign to topple President Saddam Hussein, saying they had effectively destroyed the Medina and Baghdad divisions of the crack Republican Guard troops defending the approaches to the capital.

SPACE.WIRE