March 21: The Day in Baghdad

Iraq’s interior minister carries a chrome-plated Kalashnikov while addressing a news conference Friday.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A building inside the presidential compound in Baghdad is damaged by U.S. cruise missiles.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Three guards secure their station a block from the presidential compound in Baghdad.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Ahmed Sabbar Kadim, 18, is comforted by his mother at Al Kindi Teaching Hospital in Baghdad. Kadim sustained leg and arm injuries in an explosion outside his home near the Al Rasheed Military Base.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

At dusk Friday, Baghdad appears calm. For the past two nights, nightfall has signaled the beginning of the American bombing campaign in the city.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

On the third night of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, heavy bombing rocks the area around the presidential compound in central Baghdad.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

The Special Security headquarters in Baghdad is hit hard among the buildings hit hardest.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Dozens of explosions rock Baghdad.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Smoke and fire fill the night sky over Baghdad.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Buildings ignite as the U.S. drops bombs on targets in Baghdad.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Special Security headquarters in Baghdad burns into the night.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A clock tower is silhouetted by the explosion of a nearby bomb target.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)