U.S. Central Command says coalition forces "are in close proximity" to Baghdad and there are growing indications that the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein has lost control of its army and the Iraqi people.

"The coalition attacks against the regime remain effective throughout the country, and there is increasing evidence that the regime cannot control its forces or the Iraqi population in most of the country," Army Brigadier General Vincent Brooks said April 3 during the CENTCOM briefing at Camp As Sayliyah near Doha, Qatar.

"Whether [the Republican Guard] is melting away ... by choosing not to fight anymore, or whether it is repositioning, there is movement that's ongoing," Brooks said. "We don't think that the fighting is over yet. There are still options that are open to the regime, including weapons of mass destruction. We take that very seriously."

Brooks, who is deputy director of operations at CENTCOM, said there are a lot of dynamics that are in play at this stage of the Iraqi war, and "so we would not want to be overconfident at what we are seeing. There still, we believe, will be fighting ahead. We should be sober about our approach."

Brooks also announced that the prominent cleric Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, a Shiite religious leader who had been held under house arrest, has now issued a religious ruling -- called a "fatwa" -- that urges Iraqis not to interfere with coalition troops and to remain calm.

"We believe this is a very significant turning point, and yet another indicator that the Iraqi regime is approaching its end," Brooks said. "We are seeing evidence of other religious leaders who have had enough of this regime."

Separately, CENTCOM Director of Strategic Communications Jim Wilkinson said in an April 3 news release that there is evidence the Iraqi regime may be planning a bombing campaign against several Baghdad neighborhoods.

"U.S. Central Command has reliable information that the Iraqi regime may be planning to begin anonymous bombing campaigns in several Baghdad Shiite neighborhoods in an attempt to falsely accuse the coalition of this destruction for propaganda purposes," Wilkinson said. "This action would represent just the latest chapter in a long history of aggression against innocent Iraqis by a regime that uses violence, torture, murder and hunger as tools of terror and control."

During the briefing Brooks also said Special Operations forces in northern Iraq have now cut off the highway that runs between Baghdad and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. "There have been several skirmishes that have occurred in these areas, and the mission remains successful," he said.

In addition, Special Operations forces remain in control of the Hadithah Dam, which they captured April 2, Brooks said. The seizure of the dam was essential to prevent its destruction and the subsequent flooding of areas down river, particularly near Karbala and coalition forces, he said. There have been repeated attacks against the coalition force holding the dam by Iraqi artillery and mortars coming from the nearby town of Hadithah, he said.

Brooks said Special Operations forces April 2 raided the Tharthar Palace, which is approximately 90 kilometers outside Baghdad and is a known residence of Saddam Hussein and his two sons. Attacking the palaces built by Saddam Hussein is important, he said, because they have been used as back-up command and control centers.

"In many cases we've tried to render them unusable for command and control," Brooks said. "And in many cases as well, if we have indications that there are regime leaders, we'll try to attack them while they're in there to ensure that the people as well as the physical structures are rendered incapable of command and control."