Coalition forces have taken over two palaces that were the symbols of Saddam Hussein's regime.

British forces around Basra have taken control of the palace of Ali Hassan al-Majid, the Iraqi president's cousin who is called Chemical Ali because he used chemical weapons to kill around 100,000 Kurds in Halabja, northern Iraq, in 1988.

A former chief of the secret police or Mukhabarat, Chemical Ali is certain to face trial for war crimes if he is ever caught.

Chemical Ali was the governor of Kuwait after Iraqi forces invaded the sheikhdom. He is accused of leading mass executions to repress the 1991 uprisings in Basra and Nasiriyah.

He has now fled to central Iraq and Iraqis who have overcome their fears have looted the palace, ripped out its furniture, air conditioning units, windowpanes and even switches.

Exotic plants still bloom in the spacious gardens and the swimming pool is intact, although there is no water inside.

Less than a mile from the gates, barefoot Iraqi children beg for food from the British soldiers who are trying to win over their hearts and minds.

Up north, US forces have raided the Tharthar Presidential Palace -- one of Saddam's favourites -- near Baghdad.

The Tharthar palace is one of the eight presidential residences. United Nations weapons inspectors suspected that Saddam had stored some of his weapons of mass destruction there.

At the Central Command base in Doha, Qatar, Brigadier General Vincent Brooks said the incursion, captured on video, yielded valuable intelligence documents. He said it 'illustrates the ability of this coalition to operate anywhere against any regime target'.

Troops entering the palace encountered sporadic resistance from anti-aircraft artillery fire and fighters on the ground, according to a Central Command spokesman.

The resistance was overpowered, the raid was successful, and the helicopter that brought the special forces took off without anyone being injured, he said.

Built on Lake Tharthar, which draws from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the palace is located between Baghdad and Saddam's hometown of Tikrit.

Several artificial lakes were built on the palace grounds to allow Saddam to go fishing.

In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq war, Baghdad TV had shown footage of Saddam and the late King Hussein of Jordan fishing in one of the lakes.

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