US air raids battered Baghdad tonight, sending dozens of explosions booming across the Iraqicapital just hours after the world saw US pride humbled by the firstimages of American prisoners of war.
The whine of missiles coming in wave after wave preceded aninnumerable number of blasts around this stronghold of SaddamHussein's power. One massive, deafening blast seemed to shake thevery foundations of the city.
The attack sent clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky,where the engines of war planes unleashing their high-tech furycould be heard droning high above.
One low-flying jet screamed across the horizon and fired a bombor missile that smashed into Saddam's Republican palace, as theUnited States and Britain began their most intense bombardment ofBaghdad in 48 hours.
The assault came a short while after frightened US soldiers wereparaded before the cameras of Iraqi television, prisoners of war puton display in a show aimed at humiliating Washington and rallyingsupport for Iraq in the Arab world.
AFP