CIA paramilitaries and other special operations troops have Baath Party leaders, Special Republican Guard commanders and others of Saddam's inner circle in their sights, US and foreign officials told the Washington daily.

The Post reported previously that special forces have been operating in Iraq for months, but entered Iraq in large numbers a day before the expiration of US President George W. Bush's deadline for Saddam to leave the country.

The teams are made up of skilled snipers and demolition experts who have in the last week killed "more than a handful" of people, the Post said.

The most spectacular attempt to kill those around Saddam was the March 20 bombing of a bunker where the CIA had located the Iraqi leader and his sons Qusay and Uday, a day before the military was to begin the bombing of Baghdad.

US and British troops have been hampered in recent days by tougher-than-expected resistance from Iraqi troops and paramilitaries, after initially rapid advances through Iraq.

That delay has placed further pressure on the special forces to find and kill Saddam, perhaps bringing down the government in the process and speeding the end of the war.

WAR.WIRE