The Pentagon has identified as many as 5,000 Iraqi foes of President Saddam Hussein for U.S. combat training due to begin next month, a major step towards a possible U.S.-led military attack on Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. President George W. Bush authorised the training in an October 3 directive that also approved the expenditure of DLRS 92 million in Defense Department funds, the Post quoted administration and military officials as saying.

The Post said administration officials planned to brief Congress next week on plans to instruct the Iraqis in basic combat as well as specialised skills to serve as battlefield advisers, scouts and interpreters with U.S. ground troops in any invasion force.

It said the administration ultimately hoped to have a force numbering about 10,000, some trained as "spotters" for laser-guided bombs and as military police to run prisoner of war camps inside Iraq.

"Bush's decision marks another major step forward in preparation for a U.S. military assault on Iraq," the Post said.

It said the recruits were drawn largely from lists of exiles being provided by the London-based Iraqi National Congress. They would be trained together at an undisclosed location outside the United States and outside the Middle East, the Post said, citing military officials.

PHOTO CAPTION

A September satellite image of one of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's presidential palace compounds in Baghdad. The U.S. is said to be training up to 5,000 opposition Iraqis to help fight a possible war against Saddam's government inside the country. REUTERS/Handout