Armada of US bombers strikes Baghdad

An armada of B-1, B-2 and B-52 US bombers struck communication and command centres in Baghdad, and cruise missiles set Iraq’s Information Ministry on fire today in the second such attack on the building in two days.

The fire, just yards from a shopping mall named after Saddam Hussein’s birthday, was put out after about 30 minutes.

Recorded calls of “God is great” from mosque minarets alerted Baghdad residents to another night of bombings late last night. The calls were followed by a huge explosion and then the streaks of anti-aircraft tracers across the sky.

In the past few nights, the mosque loudspeakers have been used as air-raid sirens, with the all-clear signalled by another minaret announcement: “God is great, they are gone.”

US Central Command said it was the first time in history that long-range B-1s, B-2s and B-52s had carried out simultaneous attacks on the same location.

The strike on the Information Ministry shook the city at around 2am today and sparked a fire near the 28 April Shopping Centre.

The 10-storey ministry building remained standing. Windows were gone and the outside walls sustained some damage. Witnesses said the interior, especially on the top floors, was severely damaged.

A Tomahawk missile had hit the building before dawn on Saturday, gutting one floor and destroying many of the satellite dishes on the roof. Foreign journalists have been working at the Palestine Hotel, where they had moved for fear of attacks on the ministry.

Coalition bombardments have focused in recent days on Republican Guard units protecting the approaches to Baghdad, in an attempt to wear down Saddam’s best-trained forces ahead of a US-led ground assault on the capital.

Earlier yesterday, warplanes bombed the barracks of the main training centre of the Iraqi paramilitary forces in eastern Baghdad’s Rustamiyah area, and targeted a presidential palace and an intelligence complex, US Central Command said.

Residents and officials in Baghdad said at least four telecommunication installations were hit.

Next door to the demolished telephone office in Baghdad’s A’azamiah district, 70-year-old Adel Hussein al-Abdali lamented the damage to his home.

“That Bush is a despicable coward,” al-Abdali told a crowd of journalists escorted to the site by the Information Ministry. “But we will be victorious with the help of God.”