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A barrage of mighty explosives crashed down Friday on Baghdad, sending enormous fireballs and clouds of smoke billowing high into the night sky above the Iraqi capital.

Some two hours later, the distinct sound of aircraft could be heard over Baghdad for the first time since the start of the U.S.-led attack on Iraq. A huge fire raged to the south of the city; the red glow of the flames illuminated the horizon.

The presidential compound at the Old Palace was struck anew by missiles after a lull in the heaviest attack on Baghdad since the conflict began. The compound also includes a camp of the Republican Guard and presidential units that are the foundation of Saddam Hussein's control.

United Nations inspectors paid a surprise visit to the compound in mid-January but reported finding no banned weapons or materials.

It was unclear what target had been hit on the southern part of the city, but huge black clouds of smoke were clearly visible, pouring into the darkened sky.

A major oil refinery is located at the south of the city, as well as military installations.

The first attack on Baghdad came from 320 Tomahwak cruise missiles fired by ships in the Gulf and the Red Sea, said Rear Admr. Matthew G. Moffit, commander of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk battle group.

The missiles were intended for targets in and around Baghdad, he said, and there were fired about 20 minutes before the first explosions occurred.

Asked Friday night about an Iraqi counterattack, Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf replied, "Our leadership and our armed forces will decide this, in what guarantees the defeat of those mercenaries, God willing."

At the same time as explosions rocked Baghdad, Al-Jazeera reported large booms and flashes of light in three directions from Mosul, though no direct hits in the northern city itself. Explosions came from the direction of Dohuk in the north, Kirkuk and the Mosul-Syrian border highways.

A series of very bright flashes could be seen 30 miles east of Mosul on the banks of the Great Zab river, which marks the boundary between the Kurdish self-rule area and territory controlled by the Iraqi government.

Smaller, more distant flashes could be seen in the next hour as the bomardment continued. Red tracers of anti-aircraft fire shot through the sky and then the firing subsided.

The earlier U.S.-led aerial attack was heralded by the sound of air raid sirens and explosions, followed quickly by major detonations in the city of 5 million. Many buildings were ablaze in the heart of the capital, with towering red, pink and brown clouds rising high into the air.

In response, the Iraqis opened up with anti-aircraft bursts that winked in the darkness.

The spectacular blasts lit up the night sky, illuminating the city even as they decimated it. Clouds of smoke extended high above Baghdad as fires burned; at one point, the sound of a missile roared through the street before exploding into a fireball.

Three major fires raged on Saddam Hussein's sprawling Old Palace compound on the west side of the Tigris River, officially the heart of the Iraqi state that includes the offices of the prime minister's staff and the Cabinet. The turquoise-domed main building appeared to be untouched.

However, a building next to the palace was on fire and black smoke billowed from a 10-story building in another part of the compound.

White flashes could be seen in the areas west of the palace in Baghdad. The area includes many government buildings, including the main intelligence center and headquarters of the ruling Baath Party.

The lights in the city dimmed but came back on once the bombing started. Red tracer fire shot across the night sky as the U.S. plan to "shock and awe" Iraqi troops began.

Even as the explosions resounded in the background, the Iraqi defense minister, Lt. Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmed, told reporters coalition forces were targeting the southern cities of Basra and Nassiriyah.

More than a half-hour after the attack began, Iraqi radio and television were still broadcasting and the power stayed on.

Earlier, aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, scores of bombs were readied to fire and stored in racks in the ship's cavernous hanger bay. Ordnance crews worked steadily through the day attaching global positioning system and laser guidance kits to 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound bombs and moving the ordnance from the ship's 22 weapons magazine to holding bays.

Dozens of F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornet strike planes loaded with bombs roared off the Kitty Hawk's deck before nightfall Friday.

The official Iraqi news agency reported that Saddam Hussein had offered a reward of the equivalent of $14,000 to any Iraqi who kills an enemy soldier, and $28,000 to anyone who captures an enemy soldier alive.

A semblance of normalcy had returned to Baghdad earlier Friday after U.S.-led bombings Thursday morning and then again at night. There was traffic on the streets, many shops were open and people were out during the daylight hours.

Many shops and cafes remained open, providing the city with a surface appearance of everyday life except for the armed Baath Party activists and jeeps mounted with heavy machine guns cruising the streets.

However, there was no sign of army troops in the capital, suggesting that the activists were there not to defend against the Americans and British but to suppress any uprisings and maintain iron control.

Al-Sahhaf, the information minister, acknowledged Friday that one of Saddam's homes was hit in an earlier U.S. bombardment, but said no one was hurt.

"They rocketed the residence of his household," he told a news conference. "But thank God, they are all safe."

Al-Sahhaf lashed out at the "criminal George Bush and his gang."

"They are superpower of villains. They are superpower of Al Capone," he said. "We will not allow them to get out of this quagmire which we trapped them in. They will see their end there."

The Iraqi News Agency said 37 people were injured in Thursday night's raid at heart of Baghdad and in other locations in and around the city.

Standing next to al-Sahhaf at the news conference was Interior Minister Mahmoud Diab al-Ahmed, carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition and wearing a military uniform and flak jacket with a knife in the pocket and a pistol on his hip.

"Some of you might may be wondering why do I have a Kalashnikov in my hand and wearing a flak jacket," he said. "Because we have all in Iraq pledged never to relinquish our weapons until the day of victory."

Al-Sahhaf also denied any U.S.-led advance into Iraq and argued that TV images of Iraqis surrendering were fabricated.

"Those are not Iraqi soldiers at all," he said. "Where did they bring them from?"

Al-Sahhaf suggested that any captured U.S. and British soldiers may not be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. He said Iraq was considering how to treat them.

"Those are mercenaries. Most probably they will be treated as mercenaries, hirelings and as war criminals. ... For sure, international law does not apply to those," he said.

photo credit and caption:

A building explodes during heavy bombardement by US-led forces in Baghdad Friday, March 21, 2003. The blurring was caused by the shock of the explosion. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

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