Three journalists were hurt today in a blast at Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel, the base for most foreign correspondents in the Iraqi capital.

The Al-Jazeera television network today said one of its journalists was killed when its Baghdad office was hit during a US bombing campaign.

THE US forces chose highly symbolic buildings as the focus for their first armoured raids into Baghdad yesterday, targeting the key symbols of Saddam Hussein’s regime in a dramatic show of military strength.

A massive convoy of US Marines swept down the main road to Baghdad today amid reports that Iraq’s Republican Guard was moving reinforcements south for a showdown.

American forces destroyed the Baghdad Division of Iraq’s Republican Guard after crossing the River Tigris in the drive towards the Iraqi capital, US Central Command said today.

THE people of Baghdad knew a punishing attack was coming after a two-day sandstorm that grounded many coalition warplanes gave way to blue skies.

Thunderous explosions rocked Baghdad today and a towering column of orange smoke rose over the city as the coalition forces unleashed their most powerful bombardment in days.

DESPERATE families were scooping up puddles from the war-torn streets of Basra yesterday as a chronic water shortage worsened their plight.