The British military think they have found the body of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali", but are still awaiting firm confirmation, a spokesman said yesterday.

"We believe we have found the body of Chemical Ali however we need to get that confirmed," said a British spokesman at Central Command headquarters.

Earlier, Sky television quoted a British military officer near the southern city of Basra as saying they had found the body of Ali Hassan al-Majid, who is nicknamed Chemical Ali after he ordered the use of poison gas on Kurdish villages in rebellious northern areas in 1988.

British officials were cautious about confirming what would be a major blow to the Iraqi administration but British forces commander Air Marshal Brian Burridge said he appeared to have been killed while meeting with other senior Baath Party leaders at a home in Basra.

"We've recovered some bodies but positive identification is ongoing," Burridge told reporters at war headquarters in Qatar. But he added: "I have to say that open sources locally in Basra say that's the man."

The US military said yesterday it could not confirm that "Chemical Ali", the commander of Iraq's southern front, had been killed in an air strike on his house.

Sky said British officers... "have confirmed the death during a briefing earlier this morning... that's the news we are getting, that he is in fact dead."

The US military said the body of Majid's bodyguard was found after bombing in Basra on Saturday but at the time it was unsure if Majid himself was dead - officials believed he had entered the building at the time the air strike was ordered.