Bombs rain down on Baghdad

Spectacular explosions, mushroom clouds and showers of sparks turned the horizon a hellish red as the full might of the allied aerial bombardment descended on Saddam's regime.

Huge palls of smoke billowed up from burning buildings across Baghdad as the campaign against Saddam Hussein entered a new devastating phase. Dozens of cruise missiles and bombs came down across the city as seemingly impotent anti-aircraft tracer fire streaked across the night sky.

The attack seemed relentless with explosions erupting every few seconds. A wave of B-52 bombers, which took off from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, is thought to have spearheaded the attack. Earlier the ITV News channel reported that eight cruise missiles had been fired from the USS Bunker Hill in the Gulf.

Pentagon sources said it was 'A Day' - the start of a sustained assault with as many as 3,000 cruise missiles and precision guided bombs. B-2 bat-winged stealth bombers also took part in the attack.

Baghdad-based war correspondent Peter Arnett, who also was in the Iraqi capital during the last Gulf War, said the latest bombardment was "much bigger" than anything he witnessed in the previous conflict. He said 10 buildings in front of his hotel had been destroyed in just a few minutes.

"This is just like something out of an action movie, except it's real," he told NBC News. Saddam's presidential palace was also targeted in the strikes, he said.

Al-Jazeera TV said air strikes were also hitting the northern city of Mosul.

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