Troops halt, but bombing continues

Fresh waves of air strikes battered Baghdad yesterday as five US troops were killed in a suicide bombing in central Iraq on the 10th day of the US-led war to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The heavy bombardment of Baghdad, which Iraq said had left 62 dead since late Friday, came as peace activists geared up for a weekend of massive anti-war protests against the military offensive launched on March 20.

With US war plans hampered by dogged Iraqi resistance, US-led forces were regrouping in the central and southern Iraqi desert and shoring up supply lines ahead of a decisive push for the capital, Saddam's seat of power.

In Baghdad, waves of massive explosions rocked the city center and its outskirts, especially the southern edge, with one missile crashing into the information ministry, the heart of Iraq's propaganda machine.

The Iraqi capital was still reeling from repeated bombing raids on Friday, one of which struck a busy market, killing at least 30 and wounding 47 others, in the largest single loss of civilian life since the outbreak of war.

The top floor of the 11-story ministry building, from which the government maintains iron-fisted control over the media, was completely gutted, but no one was reported injured in the attack.

The edifice houses the foreign press center and the offices of Information Minister Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf, the point man for Iraq's propaganda effort since US-led forces launched their campaign to strip Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction and depose Saddam.

Sahhaf told reporters that the regular bombings had killed 62 civilians and wounded 107 others since late Friday. It was unclear whether the victims of the market strike had been included.

Washington has accused Iraq of placing military hardware in residential areas, but is keen to limit civilian casualties in a bid to win over the Iraqi population as US-led forces try to break Saddam's 24-year grip on power.

A US military spokesman at the command headquarters in Qatar said they were investigating Friday's strike on the market "to learn the truth of the matter."

In central Iraq, the five US soldiers were killed when a taxi driver blew up his vehicle at a checkpoint north of the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf, some 150km from the capital, US Captain Andrew Valles said.

The men from the Third Infantry Division approached the vehicle after the driver indicated he needed assistance, Valles said. The suicide attacker then set off the bomb.

Shortly afterwards, Iraq's chief Muslim cleric issued a fatwa, or religious decree, calling on the people to wage holy war and fight against the US and British forces that have invaded Iraq.

In Kuwait, an Iraqi Silkworm missile hit Kuwait City for the first time, crashing into the water near the country's largest and most popular shopping mall, causing extensive material damage but only two minor injuries.

The missile hit hours after the shops close to customers. The mall's glass doors and cinemas bore the brunt of the damage.

Kuwait, the main launch pad for US and British troops, has been the target of several missile attacks since war broke out in neighboring Iraq last week, but all have been intercepted by Patriot missiles or hit remote desert areas.

After initially making quick progress toward Baghdad, with some forward units within 80km of the capital, stiffer than expected Iraqi resistance has forced US-led troops to reassess their next moves.