U.S. defense chiefs are pressing the Bush administration to launch a massive attack on Iraq in wake of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington.

Pentagon sources said the continuing pressure is coming from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and several leading military commanders. The sources said the chiefs are appealing to President George Bush to destroy key strategic installations around Iraq that were rebuilt in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf war.

The administration, the sources said, is being urged to strike Baghdad after a U.S. attack on Afghanistan. They said the United States has amassed enough forces for major attack on both countries.

U.S. military commanders said they expect an offensive to be launched soon. They said Turkey would be a launching pad for U.S. and British attacks against terrorist targets.

"We have to eradicate this international illness," Gen. Carlton Fulford, deputy commander of U.S. military forces in Europe, said. "In the course of time, our real friends will reveal themselves. We believe that Turkey would take place among our real friends."

Still, the State Department as well as National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice are said to oppose any offensive against Iraq. U.S. defense sources said Britain, which will be Washington's most active coalition partner, also opposes a war against the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

On Friday, the USA Today reported that U.S. special forces have been in Afghanistan searching for Bin Laden for the last two weeks. The newspaper said the forces arrived from neighboring Pakistan.

"This will be a multifaceted, multidimensional campaign," U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Henry Shelton, who did not confirm the report, said. "The Al Qaida organization happens to be a priority right now simply because it's Ñ I think Ñ clear knowledge that they were involved in both the World Trade Center as well as the Pentagon."

On Thursday, British and U.S. warplanes attacked Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries in southern Iraq. Officials said the planes returned safely to base.

In London, Britain's Defense Ministry said the planes reported accurate hits of anti-aircraft batteries and a command and control center.

"Initial damage assessment is that the actions were successful and there are no indications that any collateral damage or civilian casualties have been caused," a ministry statement said.

For its part, Iraq has denied any link to the Islamic suicide attacks in New York and Washington.

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