Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=03/22/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ / RESPONSE (S UPDATE)

NUMBER=2-301129

BYLINE=GREG LaMOTTE

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

/// UPDATES CR-2-301118 ///

INTRO: There are reports of fresh missile and bomb attacks in Baghdad. VOA's Greg LaMotte has the details from our Middle East bureau in Cairo.

TEXT: Explosions continued to rock Baghdad Saturday as coalition forces fired a series of bombs and missiles at targets throughout the Iraqi capital.

Reporters in Baghdad said the city's air raid sirens were quiet before, during and after the attacks and there was no visible or audible Iraqi anti-aircraft fire.

Observers in Baghdad said the latest round of bomb blasts initially occurred in an area east of the city where a power station and oil refinery are located. Reporters in the city said the blasts then moved toward the center of Baghdad.

At a news conference Saturday, Iraq's information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, said more than 200 civilians had been hospitalized following the attack Friday night. He said most of the injured were women and children.

He also denied that coalition forces had gained control of the strategic Faw peninsula and the southern port of Umm Qasr. Coalition forces said Saturday they were encountering "pockets" of resistance in those two areas. (Signed)

NEB/GL/KL/MEM