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Stage one: US and British forces have advanced into southern Iraq, after launching an intense artillery attack across the Kuwaiti border. US Marines have reached Iraq's only deep-water port at Umm Qasr in the south-east, having overcome some early resistance.
British troops also say they have taken control of key oil installations on the al-Faw peninsula. Fierce fighting has been reported around the big oil fields in northern Iraq, which US special forces are trying to secure, according to Western intelligence. Baghdad has come under heavy aerial bombardment for a second night, and several government buildings have been hit.
Explosions have also been reported in the southern city of Basra, and in the northern city of Mosul.
Click on the map to read about the strategies expected to shape the war in the coming days.