Happy St. Patrick’s Day Saddam! The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the bombing will begin on 13 March, with coalition forces moving in for the kill on 17 March.

The order to strike would be given even if France vetoed a new resolution that aimed to pave the way to military action, the tabloid added.

Action was expected to begin towards the end of next week, and senior allied commanders had set April 10 as the target date for the end of the war, before temperatures in Iraq soared and the cost of conflict spirals, The Sun said.