Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Said Al-Sahaf has repeatedly claimed that President Saddam was safe and firmly in control of the country while US officials in Washington had suggested Saddam might have been seriously injured during the severe bombing on his residence in Baghdad.

Saddam has reportedly held three meetings with senior officials since the US-led coalition forces launched military strikes early Thursday aimed at killing him or overthrowing his regime.

Present at the televised meeting included Iraqi Military Industrialization Minister Abdul Tawab al-Mulla Howeish, head of Iraq's atomic energy agency Fadhel al-Janabi and Mozahem Saab al-Hassan, head of Iraqi anti-aircraft force.

On Saturday, the Iraqi president also appeared on television three times, indicating he was still in control. The Iraqi state television showed a smiling Saddam in military uniform meeting with a war council of his top advisors, who "voiced satisfaction at the resistance and heroism displayed by the (Iraqi) armed forces" since the war began four days ago.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2003)