Latest Developments
War briefing: Latest strikes and developments
The United States launched an intense aerial assault against Iraq, raining hundreds of bombs and cruise missiles on the capital and other places. The Iraqi intelligence service’s headquarters in Baghdad burned after repeated hits.
Key events
* Two Marines were killed in separate firefights as tens of thousands of heavily armed U.S. and British ground troops raced across the Iraqi desert toward Baghdad. Resistance was reportedly minimal.
* One top Iraqi commander surrendered in southern Iraq, according to U.S. military officials, and hundreds of lower-ranking soldiers gave up.
* Turkey sent at least 1,000 soldiers into northern Iraq, against U.S. wishes, but also opened two air corridors to U.S. and British bombers.
* French President Jacques Chirac said only the United Nations had the power to run postwar Iraq, and he threatened to veto any resolution that would allow the United States and Britain to administer the country.
* Antiwar protesters in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan and Kuwait attacked police and shouted anti-American slogans.
Saturday’s forecast
Baghdad: High 76, low 44. Partly cloudy and mild.
Basra: High 80, low 53. Sunny and warm.
Kirkuk: High 64, low 38. Mostly sunny and mild.
Baghdad is in a time zone 11 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.
On the Web
Go online to www.latimes.com throughout the day for updates from Times correspondents and photographers stationed in Baghdad and Kuwait.
Los Angeles Times
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
