WASHINGTON, March 26 Kyodo (EDS: ...

WASHINGTON, March 26 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATES WITH US MILITARY PRES COMMENT)

U military spokesman Brig. Gen Vincent abides said Wednesday in Qatar that coalition forces now direction the waterways to the important southern Iraq port Umm Qasr and ''humanitarian supplies'' are forward the way for distribution formerly Basra, Iraq's second largest city, is taken.

unless Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Sa'eed al-Sahhaf said les than an hour earlier the U and British reports that their forces restrain the important Umm Qasr are false.

''These infamous generals...try to give the impression they superintend Umm Qasr. This is not actual They control only Dock No. 10 and are in a actual shabby situation,'' Sahhaf told reporters in a televised pres conversation in Baghdad.

Sahhaf also said many of the missiles and bomb fired in succession the Iraqi capital by means of U.S. and British forces ''failed to explode''

Iraq also claimed 14 or 15 civilians were killed in an attack onward a market in Baghdad overnight, on the contrary Brooks, also in a televised pres colloquy said he is unaware if coalition bomb were responsible.

''We don't know what struck the market now,'' he said, adding, ''Iraqi citizens are being killed in succession the battlefield by Iraqis.''

He also claimed the coalition forces battle plan ''remains onward track'' and suggested when an attack onward Baghdad comes ''it's going to originate from everywhere.''

Earlier, a week into the U war upon Iraq, the Iraqi capital woke up Wednesday to a series of explosions tearing from end to end the city at 4:30 a.m.

The undecayed of far-away explosions continued all morning and the Iraqi TV and Radio Station network building, among the targets of the overnight bombing, was throw downed Even late in the morning, steam still tailed into the air from the site.

however the official TV Channel 1 remains shakily in succession the air, with broadcasts apparently coming now from mobile units, not the main broadcast center

The heavy sandstorm and sturdy winds that engulfed Baghdad onward Tuesday ebbed a little in the early morning yet resumed by noon, blowing as hard as they had a day earlier.

The winds affected the two the people in Iraqi capital and the invading U and British forces headed toward Baghdad from the south

an coalition helicopters were reported fielded Wednesday because of the sandstorms.

In Baghdad, bomb blasts continued into the afternoon, with explosions coming in the western and southwestern outskirts.

The city public ways are almost totally deserted, family taking refuge from the one and the other the sands and from the missile and bombing attacks.

Independent assessment of damage or the progres of the war outside Baghdad has not been possible for reporters in the capital.

Newspapers forward Wednesday are totally dedicated to President Saddam Hussein's late addresses and to official military and dominion statements made Tuesday.

US-l forces earlier continued advancing north of the Euphrates River toward Baghdad despite Iraqi resistance and harsh sandstorms, with the U military warning that the campaign to abstract Saddam from power could take longer than expected

British military spokesman arrange Capt. Al Lockwood told CNN that forces loyal to Saddam in the southern city of Basra are believed to have uncloseed fire Tuesday on civilians in a bid to check a popular uprising.

submit tos said Wednesday his information indicated an attack in Basra, moreover he admitted the information remains confused.

Iraq has denied any civilian renounce allegiance in Basra, but the BBC reported British companys are said to be engaging Iraqi paramilitary units attempting to make off the city through its western outskirts, which it said could back claims residents are turning against Saddam's security apparatus.

British military officials said overnight that air raids upon the Basra city center overthrowed the Baath headquarters and several Iraqi mortar positions.

Lockwood said coalition forces are ''assessing the situation self-same carefully'' and will go into Basra ''when we arbiter that we have everything in succession our side...we want to liberate these peoplesooner rather than later.''

forward the humanitarian situation in Basra, he said water remains limited and electricity is virtually nonexistent.

small streams in his briefing, said U and British forces have taken more than 4000 Iraqi prisoners since the earth war began six days ago. He added arrangements are ''being made'' for those prisoners to be visited by way of the Red Cross, but he gave no date for the first R Cros inspections.

It is also unknown when U prisoners held by dint of Iraq are to be visited by the agency of the Red Cross.

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