Huge blasts took place Sunday afternoon in west Baghdad as planes pound a single target in the city, according to Reuters. "The earth shook under our feet and buildings shook. A huge, huge cloud of white smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the sky," Reuters correspondent said.
"From what we have seen in the last few days, I think these must have been some of the biggest bombs dropped in Baghdad so far," he added.
Three or four more explosions were later heard from different areas of the capital, including one near the center of the city.
Meanwhile, Iraqi troops tried to capturde in Baghdad two U.S. or British pilots that may have ejected over the city.
Earlier, television pictures from the bank of the Tigris showed speedboats searching the river and yelling soldiers firing volleys of shots into water near the edge of the river. The Qatar-based television network Al-Jazeera, quoting witnesses, said two Western pilots had come down by parachute and that troops were searching for them.
There was no immediate comment from the headquarters of the U.S.-led invasion force in Qatar. "We're watching it on TV like you," U.S. Marines Captain Stewart Upton, a spokesman, told Reuters.
The British Ministry of Defence referred all queries to the Qatar headquarters of the invasion force, saying it had no news of any lost pilots.
Later, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff discounted the Iraqi claims.
Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Myers said, "We have nothing to substantiate that claim by the Iraqis that any pilot has bailed out of his airplane over Baghdad."
Responding to reports that two Western pilots had come down by parachute and that Iraqi troops were searching for them, Myers said he had checked just prior to appearing on the program and stated, "All planes are reported safe at this point." (Albawaba.com)
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