"The airport now has a new name, Baghdad International Airport, and it is a gateway to the future of Iraq," Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told a press briefing at US Central Command's forward base in Qatar.

In a bit of symbolism intended as another blow to the Iraqi president's control over the country, Brooks said it was now "formerly known as Saddam International Airport."

He said the massive airport now could not be used by any regime officials trying to flee the country, as US and British forces continue their military assault to end Saddam's 24-year iron grip on power in Iraq.

Brooks said the sprawling site 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Baghdad had been taken in overnight fighting but added that the United States believed there could still be Iraqi fighters hunkered down there below ground.

"We found that there are underground facilities at this airport," he said, clarifying that the coalition troops did not yet have 100 percent control. An AFP reporter at the airport said fighting with Iraqi troops was ongoing.

"We don't know what we'll find there. There may in fact be someone to fight in those underground facilities," Brooks said, adding coalition air strikes had rendered the airfield unusable for any of Saddam's circle trying to flee.

"We made efforts more than a week ago to ensure that (the airport) could not be used for the take-off of any regime leaders," he said.

"Most importantly we preserved it for the future of Iraq, and that's the most significant aspect," he said.

Brooks also said that US troops had attacked Iraqi forces overnight again on the outskirts of the city and had seized "several key intersections on the south side."

SPACE.WIRE