Explosions rocked Baghdad again Sunday morning

DOHA, March 30 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S.-British war planes Sunday, March 30, pounded the Iraqi capital, as well as other major cities in the north and south of the country, causing loud explosions and massive scale destruction.

In Baghdad, four loud blasts were felt around near the city center around 2.00 am (2300 GMT Saturday) while others were heard in the northern outskirts of Baghdad, a correspondent for the Qatar-based satellite network Al-Jazeera reported.

Dozens of explosions were heard southwest of the city two hours later, added the correspondent, who was not able to identify the targets of the fresh raids by invading warplanes.

He said telephone lines were down in large areas of Baghdad and added anti-air batteries did not go into action following the fresh spate of air raids.

Again Baghdad came under sustained and intensified bombardment early Sunday, causing huge explosions in and around the capital.

The bombing set off a chain of about 25 powerful blasts on the city's southern outskirts, sending huge balls of fire and smoke into the night sky.

The fresh raids followed waves of air attacks on the capital and its southern rim on Saturday, during which at least one missile struck the information ministry.

Meanwhile, the southern city of Basra came under heavy air raids early Sunday, according to Al-Jazeera correspondent.

A victim from raided Basra

He said the strikes started around 5:00 am (0200 GMT) but was unable to identify their targets or say whether they had claimed any victims.

Basra has come under intense fire from the invasion forces in recent days.

Iraqi Health Minister Mohammad Mehdi Saleh said Saturday that food stockpiles had been destroyed by British raids.

U.S. central command also said Saturday that a building where some 200 members of the ruling Baath party were gathered had been destroyed by air strikes on Saturday.  

Also, U.S. forces fired heavy mortars and guns at Iraqi targets north of Najef early Sunday. According to Al-Jazeera, the bombing fell near a bridge on the Euphrates, just north of Najef.

On Saturday, a non-commissioned Iraqi officer carried out the first suicide bombing attack in Najef against the invasion forces, killing four U.S. troops.

In northern Iraq, coalition war planes pounded Iraqi positions on the demarcation line between Baghdad- and Kurdish-controlled territory, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent reported.

The raids started at 11:30 pm (2030 GMT) Saturday and smashed an Iraqi military base on the top of the hill which marks the border between Kurdish-held land and the rest of the country.

Three loud explosions were heard around 8.30 a.m. (0525 GMT) very close to the edge of town.

Invasion fighters carried out a total of five raids aimed at Iraqi military positions around the deserted Kurdish town of Kalak - 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Mosul -- and the nearby village of Kwayr.

Just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the main northern city of Mosul, Kalak has been left largely deserted by a mass exodus of residents fearful of fierce fighting in the event that the U.S.-led invasion forces open up a second front in the north.

Kurdish rebel forces said they had advanced to within 16 kilometers (10 miles) of the strategic oil city of Kirkuk after clearing scores of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines left behind by retreating Iraqi troops.

Fuel Supply To Iraqi Forces Cut

A British Harrier on its way to another bombing mission

Meanwhile, the commander of British Harriers tasked with cutting the supply chain to Iraq's Republican Guard have demolished a large fuel storage depot near Karbala used to service tanks.

The plan is to cut the mobility of the elite troops defending Baghdad and even leave them without gas to get stuck in the desert.

"I fired one maverick missile into the heart of a fuel dump west-north-west of Karbala used by the Republican Guard," said Wing Commander Andy Suddards, who is in charge of the mission, AFP reported.

"The visibility was good and I saw the bang. The formation followed through and dropped four laser-guided bombs and some free-fall bombs to take out the rest of the storage area and complete the job," he said stepping from his Harrier at this secret desert location in the early hours.

"Air is having its effect, there is no strategic pause. While the army is not moving forward, it is the turn of the air to shape the battle space to make it as easy as possible for when the army start going forward again and meet as little resistance as possible.

"If the tanks have no fuel it is all going to help," Suddards said.

According to official Pentagon figures, 6,000 precision-guided bombs were dropped on Iraq, 675 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired, more than 1,000 missions were flown, during the first ten days of the invasion.