A presidential palace used by one of Saddam Hussein's sons and the Iraqi information ministry were targeted in fresh air raids today.

Three huge explosions shook the streets surrounding the Iraqi information ministry shortly after midnight, according to the latest reports, as US and British aircraft continued their assault on Baghdad.

US Central Command said the ministry had been targeted by a Tomahawk missile to "reduce the command and control capabilities" of the government of President Saddam Hussein.

Reuters correspondent Khaled Yacoub Oweis said the strike appeared to have caused further damage to the ministry building, which was hit by a cruise missile on Saturday. "But the building is still standing. I can see it," he said.

Television pictures showed a large fire at the back of a shopping centre close to the ministry minutes after the blasts jolted the city centre.

That raid was followed by another at about 2am GMT, when the palace used by Qusay Hussein was reportedly hit.

The last 24 hours has seen some of the most intense bombardment since the war began, as US and British aircraft attacked Republican Guard positions protecting the approaches to Baghdad.

Wounded British Soldiers Condemn US 'Cowboy' Pilot

British soldiers injured when an American aircraft attacked their convoy, killing one of their comrades, hit out angrily at the "cowboy" pilot today.

Troops wounded in Friday's attack accused the A-10 Thunderbolt pilot of "incompetence and negligence" while others privately called for a manslaughter prosecution.

US War Strategy Under Attack

US military leaders are fighting a diplomatic rearguard action to fend off growing criticism of their war strategy.

Faced with stronger than expected opposition from Iraqi soldiers, setbacks such as friendly fire and civilian deaths, and growing unrest in the Arab world, the chief architects of the invasion have been forced to defend their plans.

The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, who has been criticised over his influence on a war plan that involves far fewer troops than the number used in the 1991 Gulf war, flatly denied reports that he rejected advice from Pentagon planners for substantially more men and armour. "That is not true," Mr Rumsfeld said. "I think you'll find that if you ask anyone who's been involved in the process from the Central Command that every single thing they've requested has in fact happened."

Meanwhile Saddam Hussein vowed to make a bloody stand and inflict huge losses on invaders in street fighting. An Iraqi military spokesman, hailing Saturday's suicide bomb that killed four US troops, said 4,000 willing "martyrs" from across the Arab world were already in Baghdad to fight.

Support for War Falls, Says Poll

Public support for the war in Iraq has fallen for the first time since the conflict began, according to a poll out today.

Some 54% of people questioned said military action was "right", compared to 59% four days ago, the YouGov poll for the Telegraph found.

Most people now believe the war will take a few months, as opposed to the feeling last week that fighting would be over within a week or two.

However, only 26% of the 1,004 adults questioned over the internet yesterday believed that the coalition should withdraw its forces.

The slight fall in support for the war was mirrored by a decline in those thinking the conflict was going well for the allies.

On March 23, 20% said they thought the war was going "very well". Just 8% hold that view now.

Some 76% said predictions of the coalition being welcomed as liberators were wrong. But despite graphic images of injured civilians, 53% said claims that "smart" bombs would limit "collateral damage" were proving true so far.

Meanwhile, a Time/CNN poll suggests most Americans believe their government has been too optimistic in its assessment of the war.

The telephone poll of 1,014 adults, taken on March 27, showed 55% believe Washington was overly optimistic in its assessments.

One in three would not support the war if more than 500 US troops were to die, according to the poll.

British Marine Dies in River Ambush

A Royal Marine was killed in action when his boat was ambushed in southern Iraq.

Several others were injured in the attack on the Al Faw peninsula, which came as Royal Marines launched their biggest offensive of the war so far, according to the latest reports.

Three US Soldiers Die in Helicopter Crash

A US helicopter crashed at a forward supply and refuelling point in southern Iraq, killing three marines and injuring a fourth.

A US military spokesman said the Marine UH-1 "Huey" helicopter was not brought down by hostile fire and a Pentagon official in Washington speculated that bad weather might have been to blame.

"Early indications are that on take-off, the helicopter crashed," the Pentagon official told Reuters.

There have been at least two other fatal US and British helicopter crashes since the war began.

Blair Seeks to Defuse Arab Anger

Tony Blair has waded into the battle for hearts and minds in the Arab world by arguing that the United States and Britain were right to go to war in Iraq

In an article for newspapers in the Middle East, including the influential Egyptian weekly al-Ahram, Mr Blair wrote: "I believe that history will judge that we made the right choice. Our quarrel is not with the Iraqi people but with Saddam, his sons, and his barbarous regime which has brought misery and terror to their country."

The prime minister's letter came amid concern that the US and Britain were losing the propaganda war with Baghdad. TV images of dead or injured civilians have inflamed Arab opinion, while dogged Iraqi resistance has stirred Arab nationalist pride despite President Saddam's reputation as a tyrant.

Protests today in Morocco, traditionally a US ally, showed what Mr Blair is up against. The demonstrations turned violent when 200,000 people marched against the US. Protesters carried coffins representing "Arab martyrs" and waved posters referring to Mr Bush as a "vampire of Arab blood".

British Retract Claim over General's Capture

British commandos fighting paramilitary forces in the southeast corner of Basra claimed they had captured an Iraqi general, but defence officials in Britain later denied the claim.

"We do not have a prisoner of war of general rank," a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said last night. It was not clear if the British were holding officers of other ranks prisoner.

British military spokesman Major Will MacKinlay said the confusion should be blamed on "the fog of war." He insisted British troops had killed a number of Iraqi officers during the fighting around Basra.

British forces have surrounded Basra but have not entered it, hoping it can be effectively captured without the need to fight street by street. Fighting has disrupted food and electricity supplies and forced many civilians to flee the city.

(China Daily March 31, 2003)