Tony Blair has accused Saddam Hussein of plotting to damage and defile holy sites in Iraq. Downing Street claimed it had evidence the Iraqi leader had sanctioned murder, torture and rape inside mosques sacred to his Shia majority.

American commanders had said Iraqi forces were firing on US troops from inside the Ali Bin Abi Talib mosque in the city of Najaf, the third holiest site of Shia Islam.

They said they did not return fire and called the shooting "despicable".

As the propaganda war intensified, the Iraqi regime and the Allies, recognising the importance of the mosques of Najaf and nearby Karbala, another Shia holy city, declared themselves the guardians of the structures.

Yesterday, at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Blair said: "The Iraqi regime intends to damage the holy sites, the religious sites, with a view to blaming the coalition forces for that damage."

He said President Saddam hoped to inflame anti-Allied opinion among Shias, who the Allies had hopedwould rise againstthe dictator, a Sunni Muslim.Mr Blair added: "I would like to emphasise to the House and to the wider Arab and Muslim world that we are doing everything we can to protect these holy sites. The fact that Saddam is prepared to use these tactics underlines once again the true nature of his regime."