TIMELINE  |  WHERE THEY STAND  |  INSIDE UNSCOM  |  MAPS FORCES IN THE GULF  |  VIDEO  |  BIOWEAPONS EXPLAINER

Blasts light the sky during the first wave of strikes over Baghdad early Saturday

May 13, 1999
Web posted at: 11:07 a.m. EDT (1507 GMT)

In this story: Hussein: 'We will not let evil triumph' Albright: Saddam Hussein could end the bombing Iraqis display more damage More evacuations from Baghdad 'More bombs will make no difference' 'Operation Monica' RELATED STORIES, SITES

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Tracer and anti-aircraft fire lit up the sky over Baghdad for a third night early Saturday, as U.S. and British forces continued their bombardment of Iraq.

Bright flashes of light soared into the air, followed by small explosions. The gunfire seemed less intense than the previous night.

Before the bombing resumed, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein gave a televised address to his nation -- his first since the bombing campaign began late Wednesday.

Hussein urged Iraqis and Arabs to resist the bombings and to hit the "criminals."

"By God, we will not compromise," Hussein said in the taped address carried by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

In Washington, Pentagon officials briefed reporters on the progress made since Operation Desert Fox began.

"The U.S. and British forces continue to attack a wide array of military facilities," U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen said. To date, there have been no reports of U.S. or British casualties, he added.

More than 200 strike and strike-support sorties were flown Thursday, including the first combat flights of the B-1 bomber, said Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

New satellite photographs released by the Pentagon showed that U.S. and British missiles had hit an Iraqi missile research and development center.

U.S. military officials also showed video of the bombing of a "critical (Iraqi) communications facility."

According to Pentagon officials, " ... it could be days, or even weeks" before they can fully assess damage from the airstrikes. More details from Friday's Pentagon briefing.

Hussein: 'We will not let evil triumph'

"We will not compromise or kneel in the face of injustice. We will not let evil triumph over virtue," Hussein said in his taped address.

The Iraqi leader paid tribute to the Iraqi armed forces and the air defense troops, who have been firing anti-aircraft guns at the cruise missiles raining on the capital.

"Iraq will be victorious. God damns them. Shame will be their fate, those followers of Satan and evil."

The address lasted only five minutes, and ended with the words: "Long live great Iraq, the great Arab nation and Palestine, and doomed are our enemies."

Other Iraqi officials also continued their verbal attacks on the United States and chief U.N. weapons inspector Richard Butler.

Butler is "a chief pawn in the hands of the United States, used whenever the United States wants (to) use (him)," said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz during a news conference.

Aziz called U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair "Zionists" and "liars" for not respecting the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins this weekend.

"The timing of (the bombing) coincided with the failure of (Clinton's) visit to Israel and with another incident which I don't want to mention," said Aziz. The latter reference apparently referred to the Congressional debate over whether Clinton should be impeached.

Albright: Saddam Hussein could end the bombing

Earlier Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright emphasized that Hussein still had the power to end the bombing of his nation.

It is still possible for the Iraqi leader to let the U.N. Special Commission weapons inspectors continue their work with unfettered access and hand over the necessary documentation about Iraq's weapons program, Albright told CNN.

"We were always willing, if they cooperated, to go to a comprehensive review" of Iraq's compliance with the U.N. disarmament mandate and the economic sanctions that have crippled the nation since the 1991 Gulf War, Albright said.

"He had a chance to get out of his box and he blew it," she emphasized.

The bombing of Baghdad began a day after chief U.N. weapons inspector Richard Butler submitted a report claiming the Iraqis were again failing to cooperate fully with the weapons inspectors. Military officials have said the bombing campaign could last four days.

"We're not going away," British Defense Secretary George Robertson told the BBC on Friday. "We will go away when he (Hussein) complies with the (U.N.) Security Council resolutions."

Albright said the policy of the United States is to contain Hussein.

"But, we also believe the Iraqi people need a government that is more representative of them," she added, without elaboration.

Iraqis display more damage

In Baghdad, Iraqi officials -- who routinely limit the movements of journalists -- continued to show Western reporters the damage done by the bombings. CNN crews were shown damage done to Baghdad's Natural History Museum.

During the second wave of bombing, one missile appeared to explode near the state Military Industrial Corporation, which is in charge of Iraq's factories.

Smoke could be seen drifting up from the area. Twisted metal and broken, blackened concrete atop the 10-story building marked the point where U.S. or British weapons slammed through its roof and tore through to the ground floor.

The Iraqis also rushed journalists around to hospitals, to emphasize the damage done to the Iraqi people.

Baghdad officials have been less willing to reveal the impact the bombing has had on sites considered sensitive to Iraq's national security.

Any strikes inside the high-walled, sprawling presidential site compounds would be difficult to see from the outside. Iraq last year declared the sites off-limits to weapons inspectors, which led to an escalation of tensions that nearly led to military strikes.

More evacuations from Baghdad

Also Friday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said 35 French nationals had been evacuated to Jordan from Baghdad. Sixty- eight others chose to remain behind, the officials said.

The 35 who left were driven to Jordan in two convoys, a ministry statement said. Most of those who chose to stay in Baghdad were dual nationals, it added.

France announced Thursday that, until further notice, it was advising all French nationals against travel to Iraq or Kuwait. Paris has distanced itself from the raids, while blaming Baghdad for the events that led to them.

Earlier Friday, the United Nations said it had evacuated another 107 staffers from Baghdad, leaving behind a skeleton humanitarian crew of about 25 to 30.

The United Nations evacuated all of its weapons inspectors early Wednesday, before the bombing campaign began.

U.S. officials said no U.S. casualties have been reported since the raids began. Iraqi officials have reported at least 25 deaths and 75 injuries.

There was no news of casualties or damage outside the capital.

'More bombs will make no difference'

Life in Baghdad continued during the day Friday as it had a day earlier: with the appearance of normalcy.

"We know they are dropping hundreds of cruise missiles here and there, but who cares?" said a food seller.

"We have got nothing to lose this time. More sanctions, more bombs will make no difference," echoed a cinema ticket seller.

Traffic was light, because Friday is the Muslim Sabbath. During morning prayers, Islamic clerics lashed out at the United States and Great Britain, calling the bombing campaign a "War against Islam," CNN's Christiane Amanpour reported.

Iraqi ministry officials told CNN a special panel would convene Friday night to observe the moon, and determine whether it had the proper crescent shape to indicate the official start of the holy month of Ramadan.

There had been some speculation that the U.S.-British bombing campaign could end once Ramadan began, because the allies were concerned about offending Islamic nations. But U.S. and British officials emphasized Friday that the bombing would continue until the military goals had been accomplished.

Newspaper headlines in Baghdad urged the Iraqis to rally behind Hussein in a show of support.

"God bless Iraq and Saddam," proclaimed the Babil newspaper's front page, in large red letters.

Below the headline was a drawing of the Iraqi leader dressed in a traditional white Arab robe, hurling a spear at a large, black hissing snake. The picture showed Hussein atop a white horse and took up about a third of the front page.

'Operation Monica'

Al-Thawra, the paper of Hussein's ruling Baath Party, headlined its anti-American editorial "Operation Monica."

The headline played off accusations that U.S. President Bill Clinton had launched the attack to deflect public attention away from impeachment proceedings against him.

Clinton is accused of abusing his office and lying under oath to cover up his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The proceedings began Friday in the U.S. House of Representatives.

An Iraqi Information Ministry official said U.S. aircraft had been drooping leaflets over southern Iraq in an apparent attempt to "arouse the people." The official gave no further details.

The largely Shiite Muslim south rebelled against Hussein after the 1990-91 Gulf War, but Iraqi forces suppressed the uprising.

As for the whereabouts of Hussein, who remained hidden from public view, Iraqi news agencies said he had been meeting with members of his government and touring damage done during two consecutive nights of bombing.

Israel, meanwhile, was preparing to defend itself against possible attacks from Iraq.

Patriot missile batteries were being installed, and Israelis were encouraged to have their gas masks checked and replace outdated models, CNN reported.

During the Gulf War, the Iraqis shelled parts of Israel.

Correspondents Christiane Amanpour, Carl Rochelle, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.