U.S. forces fired a cruise missile at Iraq's Information Ministry on Monday while other missiles hit a palace used by President Saddam Hussein's son as the fierce air assault on Baghdad entered its 12th day. Three huge blasts rocked the center of the city early on Monday, sparking a fire close to the ministry complex.
Witnesses said it appeared the ministry had sustained new damage in the attack - the second in three days to target Iraq's official information headquarters.
At daybreak several hours later, two more explosions reverberated through central Baghdad, hitting the presidential palace used by Qusay Hussein, Saddam's son, Reuters correspondent said. "We jumped off our seats," he added. "We can see flames coming out of the palace."
U.S. Central Command war headquarters in Qatar issued a statement saying the Information Ministry had been targeted with a Tomahawk missile "to reduce the (Saddam) Hussein regime's command and control capabilities."
"Battle damage assessment is ongoing. Coalition forces target only lawful military targets and go to great lengths to minimise civilian casualties and damage to civilian facilities," the statement said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
