Baghdad: Smoke billowed from Saddam Hussein's Presidential compound early on March
31 after an aerial attack as Iraq pledged that thousands of Arab volunteers were
ready to die in suicide attacks to ward off approaching US and British troops.
A news correspondent is believed to have seen a missile slam into Saddam's sprawling
palace on the banks of the Tigris river just after midnight (02:30 IST), following
at least eight massive explosions on the capital's outskirts.
The Iraqis launched intense anti-aircraft fire as warplanes roared overhead.
While the Presidential compound in Central Baghdad has been attacked repeatedly
since the US-led coalition launched the war on March 20, many of the air attacks on
March 30 targeted positions on the capital's outskirts, where elite Iraqi units are
believed to be concentrated.
As the United States announced its troops were within 95 kilometres of Baghdad, Iraq
boldly vowed to meet the invaders with suicide attacks -- a sign of the guerrilla
tactics that have impeded the coalition's push.
General Hazem Al-Rawi said more than 4,000 volunteers had come from every Arab
nation "without exception", ready to follow in the footsteps of an Iraqi officer who
killed four US soldiers in a kamikaze attack in Southern Iraq on March 29.
Agencies
