The
top floor of the 11-storey building, which houses Iraq's state-run
Internet company, was gutted in the Saturday strikes. Satellite dishes
on the roof were also damaged, but no one was reported hurt.
"The
ministry of information in Baghdad was targeted by Tomahawk missiles
early today," U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday.
The
shock of the strike was felt down to the ground floor where water pipes
burst.
In
the international press centre, which gives onto the street, windows
were blown out.
In
AFP's office two television sets and technical equipment were strewn
over the floor.
The
higher floors of the building, near the Tigris River in central Baghdad,
also house the office of Information Minister Mohammad Said Al-Sahhaf,
were also affected.
"The
Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division late Friday struck the
vicinity of the city, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of the
Iraqi capital," the divisions’ Brigade commander, Colonel Greg
Gass, told AFP.
Meanwhile,
the U.S. army's 3rd Infantry Division, backed by the 101st Airborne
Division, was as close as 50 miles (80 kilometres) south of Baghdad,
while marines advanced north in two prongs between the Euphrates and the
Tigris rivers.
However,
stiff resistance, bad weather and long, vulnerable supply lines have
significantly slowed their advance and prompted the occupation forces to
publicly defend its strategy amid concern that all is not going to plan.
Warplanes
Swoop Down Republican Guards
In
another development, occupation’s laser-guided bombs and Maverick
missiles took out Friday some of the elite Iraqi Republican Guards’
biggest guns 60 miles (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad, said occupation
Flight Lieutenant Scott Morley.
Morley
said he joined a queue of warplanes including A10 tank busters and
American F16 and F18s to take his turn to bomb the division.
"Our
forces were a good 30 miles (50 kilometres) or so away and well out of
their range so we went in to soften them up before we engaged,"
Morley said.
"There
was fantastic visibility and I could even see the camels on the ground
as well as a number of bomb craters around the encampment. I got two
good hits on Medina Division artillery pieces.
"I
saw the impact myself as the bombs hit. There are a lot of jets up there
working the same area and we are hitting them hard so they will lose the
will to fight and so we don't take such big losses on the ground when we
go in," he added.
Kuwait
Hit
 |
|
Kuwaiti
policemen inspect the damage caused by a missile attack on Souq
Sharq Shopping mall
|
In
another development, the heart of Kuwait was hit in a missile attack
late Friday night, injuring two people slightly, an AFP correspondent at
the scene reported.
The
missile landed 10 metres (33 feet) out to sea, according to an interior
ministry official, but the fallout extended 300 metres (990 feet) into
one of the emirate's largest and most popular shopping malls, Souk
Sharq, which lies a few hundred metres from the foreign ministry and
Seif Palace, the seat of Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
Also
close by are the British embassy and the central business district,
including the Central Bank and stock exchange.
"An
Iraqi missile was launched against Kuwait ... There were no
casualties," Brigadier Ahmad al-Rjaib told state television.
He
called on "citizens to be vigilant and aware of the Iraqi regime,
which would not hesitate to harm Kuwait."
Air
raid sirens, which are supposed to give warning of incoming missiles,
did not go off.
"It
could have been a low-flying missile which is why it was not picked up
by the air defence system. It could have been launched from the
sea," claimed another interior ministry official.
Hospital
officials told the state KUNA news agency that two people, a Kuwaiti and
an Egyptian, had been lightly wounded by the blast.
"The
ground shook like an earthquake. I immediately called 777 for emergency
services and a moment later I saw huge flames," eyewitness Faisal
al-Sallal told AFP.
Pieces
of missile debris could be seen everywhere outside the shopping centre,
surrounded by the stench of burning metal.
Since
the start of the week-old war on Iraq, some 15 missiles have been fired
at Kuwait.
Several
missiles have been intercepted by Patriot anti-missile missiles, while
others have landed harmlessly in the sea, according to AFP.
