A huge explosion shook the center of Iraq's capital before dawn Saturday, hours after the most ferocious attack of the war left Saddam Hussein's Old Palace in flames and Baghdad shrouded in smoke.
The blast at first light shattered the eerie silence that had fallen over Baghdad after the massive missile attack Friday evening.
Two palaces were among the buildings destroyed by the third missile attack on the city in two days.
The Iraqi defense minister, speaking as the missiles hit, said the coalition was also targeting the southern cities of Basra and Nassiriyah.
Three major fires raged inside Saddam's Old Palace compound. The complex is the official center of the Iraqi state, and home to the offices of the prime minister's staff, the Cabinet and a Republican Guard camp.
Iraq's Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said two palaces were attacked: the Peace Palace, used for foreign dignitaries, and the Azzouhour Palace, a museum once used by the royal family, which was overthrown in 1958. Pointing to the damaged Peace Palace, al-Sahhaf lashed out at U.S. Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
"This criminal dog calls it a military site," the minister said.
Al-Sahaf said that 250 civilians had been wounded in strikes on Baghdad and denied U.S. and American claims of successes in their invasion of the country.
Sahaf said Iraq had destroyed five enemy tanks and inflicted casualties on the invading force. He denied the allies had captured the strategic Faw peninsula and its vital oil installations.
Asked Friday night about an Iraqi counterattack, al-Sahhaf replied, "Our leadership and our armed forces will decide this, in what guarantees the defeat of those mercenaries, God willing." Speaking of Rumsfeld and President Bush, he declared, "Those only deserve to be hit with shoes."
During the day, Iraqi television showed footage of Saddam meeting with his son Qusai, the commander of the Republican Guard, and the defense minister, Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad, presenting a united front. The television said the meeting took place Friday.
In Washington, a senior U.S. official told AP Friday's bombardment might not be as intense as originally planned because surrender talks were continuing with senior Iraqi officials.
Al-Sahhaf denied any U.S.-led advance into Iraq and argued that TV images of Iraqis surrendering were fabricated. "Those are not Iraqi soldiers at all," he insisted.
And he suggested that any captured U.S. and British soldiers may not be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Al-Sahhaf said Iraq was considering how to treat them.
"Those are mercenaries," he said. "Most probably they will be treated as mercenaries, hirelings and as war criminals. ... For sure, international law does not apply to those."
Later, however, a statement issued in Saddam's name on the official Iraqi News Agency said Iraq will follow the Geneva Conventions with respect to any captured soldiers despite the "grotesque crimes" committed by the Americans.
Meanwhile, ground forces were advancing in the south. By early next week, U.S. ground forces led by the Army's 3rd Infantry Division are likely to be at the outskirts of Baghdad.
According to U.S. reports, Iraqi troops surrendered in large numbers. Coalition commanders accepted the surrender of the 8,000-member 51st Iraqi Infantry Division near the southern city of Basra, officials said.
The 51st Infantry Division, with 8,000 men and as many as 200 tanks, a key unit in the defense of the southern city of Basra was the largest defection in a day.
At the same time, the Army's 3rd Infantry Division surged 160 kms into Iraq. The Army's 101st Airborne Division joined the fight.
There were pockets of resistance, some of it stiff; a second combat death was reported Friday, a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force who was wounded while battling a platoon of Iraqi infantry.
Australian commandos, who have been operating deep in Iraq, destroyed a command and control post and killed a number of soldiers, according to the country's defense chief, Gen. Peter Cosgrove. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
