Kuwaiti TV said Thursday morning that Iraqi troops had torched 15 oil wells in the city of Basra. The report cannot be confirmed.
Meanwhile, the state Iraqi News Agency (INA) said US and British planes had attacked Basra airport early Thursday morning. It also cited similar attacks against military and non-military targets in the cities of Kut and Anbar.
Baghdad was calm Thursday morning hours after dozens of U.S. Cruise missiles slammed into targets in Baghdad in what the Pentagon called a "decapitation strike" aimed at the Iraqi leadership.
An Iraqi official told Reuters that the first wave of U.S. attacks had targeted "military positions and facilities." He declined to give any further information.
The results of the strike were not immediately clear, however, the official told Reuters. Sources at the Pentagon said the strike preceded the main assault being planned by the U.S.
The New York Times reported that the attacks were "against an installation in Baghdad where American intelligence believed Saddam Hussein and his top leadership were meeting."
The early strike used Tomahawk cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs dropped from F-117 Nighthawks, the Air Force's stealth fighter-bombers, military officials said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
