Troops sealed off the riverfront around the Sheraton hotel while the operation to make safe the huge device -- a JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) bomb -- was carried out.

"They drilled a hole in the bomb and burned the explosive out from inside," said spokesman Captain Mick Garraway.

Residents were told to stay indoors and a 500 square-metersquare-yard) area was sealed off to motorists and pedestrians.

The bomb had been dropped by a coalition warplane during the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein's regime from Iraq's second city.

The Sheraton was burnt and looted by residents as the British moved in to take control of Basra last week.

It was believed to have been a favoured hangout for members of Saddam's Baath party -- and was thus a key target for US and British forces.

SPACE.WIRE