Two coalition aircraft struck the building with "laser-guided munitions" at around 5:30 am (0130 GMT), US Central Command said in a statement.

"A full assessment of the strikes effectiveness is in progress," it said.

Basra has been surrounded by British troops for nearly two weeks.

Notorious for ordering the gassing of the Kurds in 1988, Majid was given a top role defending southern Iraq ahead of the US-led war launched March 20 to topple Saddam's regime.

"Ali is a member of the Iraqi presidents inner circle and holds the military title, 'southern commander of forces,'" the Central Command statement said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch in a report earlier this year called for the prosecution of Majid, saying he was responsible for the deaths or "disappearances" of around 100,000 non-combatant Kurds in the campaign against them that involved the use of chemical weapons.

Al-Majid held authority over state agencies in Iraq's Kurdish regions at the end of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

SPACE.WIRE