KUWAIT CITY, March 20 (Thursday) -- U.S. forces opened an assault on Iraq early today with a barrage of 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles that slammed into three targets near Baghdad, the first salvo in a campaign to destroy the rule of President Saddam Hussein. Radar-evading F-117 stealth aircraft also dropped 2,000-pound bombs in an attack that military officials said was directed at Hussein and the Iraqi leadership.

Iraq struck back within hours, launching missiles into areas of neighboring Kuwait where U.S. and allied forces are preparing to advance into Iraq. No casualties were reported, but troops on several bases were repeatedly ordered into underground bunkers and donned clothing designed to protect against chemical and biological weapons.

Explosions and antiaircraft fire erupted in Baghdad at dawn as armored vehicles of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division began moving into position to cross a sand berm into Iraq from Kuwait. President Bush announced in Washington the beginning of "a broad and concerted campaign," to be spearheaded by more than 250,000 U.S. and British forces in the region.

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