An International Committee Red Cross team visited Iraqi prisoners of war held by United States-led forces at a camp near Umm Qasr on Monday.

Britain said that as of Monday, about 8,000 POWs had been taken.

ICRC West Asia chief Balthasar Staehelin said a 15-member team, including a doctor and six interpreters, registered about 100 prisoners after talking with the camp commander for several hours and touring the facilities.

In keeping with ICRC practice, Staehelin did not comment on the treatment of prisoners or the conditions of detention at the camp, which houses about 3,000 POWs.

"The ICRC does not comment publicly but shares its findings with the detaining authorities with a view to achieving improvement if and when required," he said.

Staehelin said ICRC staff were in contact with the Iraqi authorities and were hopeful that they would get the go-ahead to visit US and British POWs held by Iraqi forces.

Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which both sides have signed, the ICRC must be allowed to visit POWs.

"We have had clear indication that the ICRC will be granted access. Two ministers of the Iraqi government have publicly stated they will respect the Geneva Conventions. We hope these visits can take place as rapidly as possible, but for the time being, no date has been set."

Last week al-Jazeera television broadcast images of what it said were captured British and US soldiers and airmen.

The Pentagon's war casualty list includes 17 Americans missing in action and seven prisoners of war.

Staehelin said the current visit would last "a number of days" and involve group interviews, individual interviews and medical evaluations as well as attempts to re-establish contact between the POWs and their families. The ICRC will conduct regular follow-up visits, he said.

Meanwhile, in central Iraq, the allies have slowed down their advance on Baghdad as they await the arrival of more US troops and focus on eliminating pockets of Iraqi resistance.

After days of guerrilla attacks on their supply lines, British and US commanders are trying to refine their battle plan by attacking Iraqi paramilitaries and ruling Ba'ath Party officials.

But the allies also continue to lay the ground for the assault on Baghdad with heavy bombing aimed at Republican Guard positions south of the city.

Just 50 miles south of the capital, US troops battled their way into Hindiyah, capturing dozens of members of the Republican Guard.

At least 35 Iraqi soldiers were reported killed and many captured in the skirmishes between the sacred city of Karbala and the ruins of ancient Babylon.

The prisoners told the Americans that they belonged to the Republican Guard's Nebuchadnezzar Brigade, based in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. They also had the guard's triangular insignia on their uniforms.

In another part of the city, a tank company attacked a bunker and killed 20 Iraqi troops and captured a dozen more, according to reports. At the Hindiyah police station, US soldiers used shotguns to open a locked door and stormed the building.

Intelligence officers rifled through the desks, finding maps with fighting positions marked out and organisational charts.

Battles are also raging farther south, in Najaf, where US marines killed about 100 militiamen.

British forces have concentrated on securing the ground they hold near Basra, and systematically eliminating resistance.

rediff.com Senior Editor Shyam Bhatia is the co-author of Saddam's Bomb, on Iraq's search for nuclear weapons.