Invasion forces mounted one of their fiercest air assaults yet on Baghdad on Saturday, targeting the center and outskirts of the city with repeated bombings that drew blasts of Iraqi anti-aircraft fire. The new attacks followed an overnight strike on Iraq's Information Ministry and a marketplace blast that killed dozens of civilians.

Several large blasts shook the city center after dark on Saturday. Fierce attacks beginning on Saturday afternoon also targeted outlying areas where Iraq's Republican Guard are believed to be dug in to defend the capital against advancing invasion forces. The attacks on the outskirts lasted for hours.

Meanwhile, Iraq's vice president said the Palestinian-style resistance bombing which killed four American invasion troops is "just the beginning."

Iraqi TV described the attack as the "Blessed beginning on the road of martyrdom" against the US.

Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan vowed more will follow. He said: "This is just the beginning. You'll hear more pleasant news later.

"It will be routine military policy. We will use any means to kill our enemy in our land and we will follow the enemy into its land.

"The United States will turn the whole world to martyrs against it. What do they expect? The Arabs and Muslims are not allowed to develop missiles and bombs as powerful as theirs."

The bombing happened on Saturday at a road checkpoint north of Najaf.

Saddam Hussein has awarded the bomber, named as non-commissioned army officer Ali Jaafar al-Noamani.

Other Key Developments Concerning the Invasion of Iraq

* _ Iraq's Information Ministry building was damaged but not destroyed in a U.S. missile attack before dawn. During daylight operations, U.S. warplanes dropped six 500-pound laser-guided bombs and nine 500-pound unguided bombs on military vehicles and a command bunker south of Baghdad.

* _ French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed the United Nations must play a large role in running Iraq after the war, Chirac's office said.

* _ The United States halted launching Tomahawk cruise missile over parts of Saudi Arabia after the kingdom complained some of the weapons landed in the vast desert country, the Central Command said. No time estimate was given for resuming the launches.

* _ The Pentagon said the number of American deaths stood at 36; the British military said 23 had died.

* _ Military officers confirmed reports that U.S. forces had found the bodies of some coalition troops in shallow graves near Nasiriyah and said forensic investigators were going to the sites.

* _ Iraq's information minister said President Bush should be charged with war crimes for the deaths of Iraqi civilians.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan addresses a press conference in Baghdad (AFP/Ahmad Al-Rubaye) - Mar 29 1:42 PM ET