Latest developments

War briefing: latest strikes and developments

*

Airstrikes continued throughout the day, as shown in the map at right, with considerable activity in southern Iraq. Allied ground troops moved in from Kuwait, where part of a British assault brigade was involved in a cross-border skirmish with Iraqi troops. Allied forces appear to have captured the Iraqi seaport of Umm al Qasr.

Latest developments

* U.S. and British troops swept into southern Iraq in an invasion aimed at Baghdad, where a new wave of missiles and bombs struck a presidential compound housing several departments at the heart of Saddam Hussein’s government. U.S. intelligence officials said they believe that Hussein and his two sons were present, but it is not clear whether any were killed.

* A U.S. Marine helicopter crashed in Kuwait, killing a total of 16 American and British troops on board, a defense official said. The Americans -- believed to number four -- were from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.

* Hundreds of thousands of antiwar demonstrators protested in many nations, and a number of government leaders denounced the war.

* Experts at the Pentagon, the CIA, the State Department and other U.S. agencies were analyzing tapes to determine whether the person who addressed the nation on television was really Saddam Hussein or a look-alike.

Today’s weather

Baghdad: High 71, low 51. Mostly sunny.

Basra: High 82, low 61. Mostly sunny.

Kirkuk: High 62, low 39. Sunny and cool.

On the Web

Go online to www.latimes.com throughout the day for updates from Times correspondents and photographers stationed in Baghdad and

Kuwait.

*

Sources: NIMA, Times of London, Al-Arbiya, Associated Press, United Nations, BBC, Federation of American Scientists, Yahoo! and Lycos Weather

Researched by Times graphics reporters Joel Greenberg and Brady MacDonald