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Posted on 03/21/2003 10:27:58 AM PST by JohnHuang2
U.S. Begins Massive Air Assault on Iraq
By HAMZA HENDAWI .c The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Huge explosions rocked Baghdad as a barrage of mighty bombs crashed down on the Iraqi capital on Friday, sending up huge clouds of smoke and flame.
The U.S.-led aerial attack was heralded by the sound of air raid sirens and explosions, followed quickly by major detonations in the city of 5 million.
Many buildings were ablaze in the heart of the city, with towering red, pink and brown clouds rising high into the night sky.
In response, the Iraqis opened up with anti-aircraft bursts which winked in the darkness.
Despite the assault, Iraqi radio and television kept brodcasting and electric power remained on - even in buildings close to explosions.
The bombardment began shortly before 9 p.m., heralded by the sounds of air raid sirens.
A semblance of normalcy had returned to Baghdad earlier Friday after U.S.-led bombings Thursday morning and then again at night. There was traffic on the streets, many shops were open and people were out during the daylight hours.
Many shops and cafes remained open, providing the city with a surface appearance of everyday life - except for the armed Baath Party activists and jeeps mounted with heavy machine guns cruising the streets.
However, there was no sign of army troops in the capital, suggesting that the activists were there not to defend against the Americans and British but to suppress any uprisings and maintain iron control.
Iraq's information minister acknowledged Friday that one of Saddam's homes was hit in an earlier U.S. bombardment, but said no one was hurt.
``They rocketed the residence of his household,'' Mohammed Sa'eed al-Sahhaf said at a news conference. ``But thank God, they are all safe.''
Al-Sahhaf lashed out at the ``criminal George Bush and his gang.''
``They are superpower of villains. They are superpower of Al Capone,'' he said. ``We will not allow them to get out of this quagmire which we trapped them in. They will see their end there.''
The Iraqi News Agency said 37 people were injured in Thursday night's raid at heart of Baghdad and in other locations in and around the city.
Standing next to Al-Sahhaf at the news conference was Interior Minister Mahmoud Diab al-Ahmed, carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition and wearing a military uniform and flak jacket with a knife in the pocket and a pistol on his hip.
``Some of you might may be wondering why do I have a Kalashnikov in my hand and wearing a flak jacket,'' he said. ``Because we have all in Iraq pledged never to relinquish our weapons until the day of victory.''
Sahhaf also 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 said. ``Where did they bring them from?''
Al-Sahhaf 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. Most probably they will be treated as mercenaries, hirelings and as war criminals. ... For sure, international law does not apply to those,'' he said.
A busload of journalists was taken to the main Al-Douri power plant, which was damaged in the 1991 Gulf War, where at least 12 human shields from Switzerland, Turkey, France and the United States are staying.
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IIRC, the blonde on Fox & Friends this morning quoted one of them as calling us an "international gang of criminal bastards". I haven't been able to run down that quote. Anybody else hear it?
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I must say the vast majority of everyone here has faith in God to protect and give strength, divine wisdom, and favor to our Armed Forces.
Thank you for reminding us to pray - we need God.
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| Fri Mar 21, 3:33 PM ET |
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Maj David 'Bull' Gurfein, of New York City, right, with 1st Marine Expeditionnary Force, tears down a portrait of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) while Sgt Jason Lewis, 4th Reconnaisance Battalion Company, from Denver, Co., looks on, in the southern border city of Safwan, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, March 21, 2003. |
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