"Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical, and we are confident that they will be found and discovered and seen," said spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Asked whether the US-led campaign had to find Saddam to be considered a success, Fleischer said that would be "helpful" but that the "definition of victory" was disarming Iraq and ending his regime.

"So clearly, the future or the fate of Saddam Hussein is a factor, but ... whether he is or is not alive or dead, the mission is moving forward, and the regime's days are numbered," he said.

Speaking after Iraqi television broadcast images of Saddam that may show he survived the first night of US bombings of Baghdad, Fleischer insisted that "we don't know" what conclusions to draw from the state-run media's report.

"I can also tell you in the bigger scheme of things it really doesn't matter, because whether it is him or whether it isn't him, the regime's days are numbered and are coming to an end," the spokesman said.

US President George W. Bush launched military action against Iraq on grounds that Saddam possesses chemical and biological weapons and seeks nuclear arms, all in violation of a decade of UN disarmament demands.

US-led troops virtually knocking on Saddam's door have yet to locate such weapons of mass destruction, though they have reported finding a suspected "training school" for nuclear, chemical or biological warfare.

After coalition forces captured and renamed Saddam International Airport "Baghdad International airport" was a key symbolic victory, and all such reminders of Saddam's iron grip on power will fall, said Fleischer.

"There's nothing the Iraqi people want more than to throw off the yoke of oppression that Saddam has imposed on them," he said.

"I think that the Iraqis don't want to have Saddam Hussein statues left behind. They don't want Saddam Hussein's torture left behind. They don't want his brutality left behind," the spokesman said.

WAR.WIRE