Iraq's information minister acknowledged Friday that one of Saddam Hussein's homes was hit in the U.S. bombardment, but said no one was hurt. "They rocketed the residence of his household," Mohammed Sa'eed al-Sahhaf said at a news conference. "But thank God, they are all safe." Al-Sahhaf lashed out at the "criminal George Bush and his gang."

"They are superpower of villains. They are superpower of Al Capone," he said. "We will not allow them to get out of this quagmire which we trapped them in. They will see their end there."

A semblance of normalcy returned to Baghdad after Thursday night's bombing.

There was a great deal of traffic on the streets, many shops were open and many people were out on the street.

But there was still a heavy security presence, including armed members of the ruling Baath Party, security forces and police, and pickup trucks mounted with heavy machine guns.

The official Iraqi News Agency said 37 people were injured in Thursday night's raid at heart of Baghdad and in other locations in and around the city.

Standing next to Al-Sahhaf at the news conference was Interior Minister Mahmoud Diab al-Ahmed, carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition and wearing a military uniform and flak jacket with a knife in the pocket and a pistol on his hip.

"Some of you might may be wondering why do I have a Kalashnikov in my hand and wearing a flak jacket," he said.

"Because we have all in Iraq pledged never to relinquish our weapons until the day of victory."

Sahhaf also denied any U.S.-led advance into Iraq and argued that TV images of Iraqis surrendering were fabricated.
"Those are not Iraqi soldiers at all," he said. "Where did they bring them from?"

Al-Sahhaf suggested that any captured U.S. and British soldiers may not be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Al-Sahhaf said Iraq was considering how to treat them.

"Those are mercenaries. Most probably they will be treated as mercenaries, hirelings and as war criminals. ... For sure, international law does not apply to those," he said.

A busload of journalists was taken to the main Al-Douri power plant, which was damaged in the 1991 Gulf War , where at least 12 human shields from Switzerland, Turkey, France and the United States are staying.

The lone American, Mark Ubans of Wallington, Mo., said: "There seems to be no way to stop this war. So the least people can do is to try to protect civilians here." He said at least five American human shields are elsewhere in Iraq.

PHOTO CAPTION

Smoke and flames appear in the sky over Baghdad following an explosion, Thursday, March 20, 2003. Explosions could be heard in Baghdad coming from an area where Saddam Husseins's palaces and intelligence headquarters are located. The second round of U.S.-led air attacks was launched Thursday night, but U.S. military officials said the assault was not the beginning of the massive air campaign the Pentagon has planned. (AP Photo/APTN)