A series of at least 30 explosions have been reported in Baghdad, as at least four waves of air strikes hit the city centre and the outskirts of the capital.
Anti-aircraft fire has been heard over Baghdad, according to Reuters, while earlier reports suggested warplanes were overhead.
”There were 10 explosions, some of them apparently near the city centre, and others outside,” said correspondent Khaled Oweis. ”There was also anti-aircraft fire but I could not hear any planes.”
Baghdad has been the target of a series of raids since the beginning of the conflict last Thursday. Twelve people were killed earlier today in a raid on a heavily-populated northern area of the city.
More than 30 000 American reinforcements have been ordered to the Gulf as two Iraqi convoys headed towards coalition forces south of Baghdad and south of Basra.
Some 12 000 troops from the Fourth Infantry Division have been sent to join their equipment in Kuwait. The division, which comprises 200 tanks, was originally intended to go into Iraq through Turkey.
Marines lie in wait for Baghdad convoy
US troops are preparing to engage an Iraqi convoy heading south from Baghdad towards Kerbala.
Pentagon officials said the column appeared to consist of ”light vehicles,” contrary to previous reports which suggested it was a large column made up of the elite Republican Guard.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said: ”We understand there are a few vehicles that are coming south. They’re being engaged as we find them.
”It won’t matter whether it is day or night. We don’t think they are armoured vehicles. They’re light vehicles of some sort.”
In a statement given to the Reuters news agency, the Iraqi administration said the Republican Guard had engaged in battle with American forces for the first time since the invasion seven days ago. It gave no further details.
”The coming days will be more difficult and harsher on them. By God, they have no way out of this deadly trap except to admit defeat and flee,” said the 18-page statement, which was read out on Iraqi state TV.
A second Iraqi convoy came under fire late last night after it headed south-east out of Basra. The 120-strong column was reported to have scattered into the surrounding countryside after it was attacked by coalition war planes.
It was not clear whether the Iraqis were attempting to retreat, or were launching a counter-attack against British forces. Witnesses said the Iraqis had made themselves ”sitting ducks.”
British casualties reach 22
Two British soldiers missing in action were presumed dead today after pictures of their bodies were broadcast on Arab TV, taking the total number of confirmed British casualties to 22.
The pair were last seen on Sunday after their Land Rover was ambushed with rocket-propelled grenades.
Military chiefs said they were ”shocked and appalled” at the images broadcast on al-Jazeera TV.
Four of the British fatalities were killed in combat, with another 18 the victims of so-called ”friendly fire”. There have been 22 US casualties, and another two are missing in action.
Group Captain Al Lockwood said: ”We are shocked and appalled that the Iraqi regime has released close-up television pictures that claim to show dead UK military personnel. This is a flagrant and disgraceful breach of the Geneva Convention.”
One of the soldiers appeared to have been shot in the chest, while the other’s wounds were unclear. Al-Jazeera also broadcast footage of what it said were two UK prisoners of war, although there is no confirmation the men were British.
At least 175 Iraqi civilians are thought to have been killed in the conflict so far. There are no reliable figures on the number of casualties in the Iraqi military.
US troops enter northern Iraq
Around 1 000 US troops have parachuted into northern Iraq and taken control of an airfield in Kurdish-controlled territory.
It is the coalition forces first major excursion into northern Iraq. CNN said the troops were from the 173rd airborne brigade and seized the airfield to make way for armoured tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles.
Allied forces’ activity in the north of Iraq has been limited after Turkey refused to allow US troops to use their land to open a northern front.
Blair touches down in Washington
Tony Blair has landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland en route to his summit with George Bush.
The Prime Minister will meet the President at Camp David to discuss the course of the war — and plans for humanitarian aid after its conclusion — before going on to the United Nations.
Blair’s chartered British Airways Boeing 777 was struck by lightning 20 minutes before landing while flying at about 10 000 feet. The lightning bolt struck the left wing but did not cause any damage or cause the plane to change its course.
Before leaving for the US, Blair told the Commons there had been a ”limited” uprising in Basra. He said the coalition would be ”ready to support” any rebellion but admitted a major uprising against Saddam Hussein’s regime may be ”some way off.”
US: we did not target market
US military chiefs last night said that their aircraft had been targeting Iraqi missiles very close to civilian homes when at least 15 people were killed in a market in the Shaab area of Baghdad.
At first, officials had hinted that the bombing could have been the fault of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime.
However, it was later admitted that Central Command in Qatar had acknowledged coalition aircraft had been dropping smart bombs on nine Iraqi missiles and launchers positioned in residential areas.
A military representative said: ”We don’t know if it was US or Iraqi, which landed in the Shaab district. We didn’t target anything in the Shaab district.”
An Iraqi defence ministry representative said that at least 15 people had been killed and 30 injured in the raid, which happened in a heavily-populated area in the north of the city.
The scene of the explosion is 15 minutes from the centre of Baghdad. Witnesses described hearing a low-flying aircraft followed by two loud explosions.
Western journalists who were on the scene in minutes said that they had counted at least 15 bodies.
The Arab satellite television channel al-Jazeera showed several charred cars at the scene, and at least one bloodied body was being carried away.
Hundreds of people stood in front of what appeared to be a bombed-out building, some with their firsts in the air, shouting: ”There is no God but God.”
In London, the prime minister’s representative said that Downing Street was seeking information about the Baghdad market blast, but did not, at this stage, know the cause of the explosion.
He added: ”We have always accepted that there will be some very regrettable civilian casualties.”
The market explosion, which took place at around 10.30am yesterday, was followed by reports of further heavy bombing in the capital.
At the Pentagon, a representative acted to highlight non-accidental hits by showing five videos of bombing operations that hit their intended targets. – Guardian Unlimited Â