Meanwhile, Iraq claimed that its surface-to-air missiles had downed at least one enemy plane. It was seen by residents falling from the sky on fire. Satellite television later showed pictures of the shattered plane as unconfirmed reports said the Iraqi missiles had hit another allied aircraft. An Iraqi spokesman announced here that Iraq’s air defense system had so far downed 21 enemy cruise missiles.

US Army Brigadier General Vince Brooks in Qatar claimed forces were moving fast toward Baghdad. By contrast to the opposition on the ground, US and British forces had complete dominance of the skies, hitting Baghdad repeatedly with devastating bombardments that set off giant fireballs, thunderous explosions and glowing clouds.

Iraqi television last night showed President Saddam Hussein chairing three meetings with top advisers on the war with the United States. It showed Saddam in military uniform and said his aides “voiced satisfaction at the resistance and heroism displayed by the armed forces, fighters of the Baath Party and tribesmen.”

It did not say where or when the meetings were held.

The besieged Iraqi capital was still reeling from a night of blistering attacks which Iraq said left three dead and 207 injured. Fireballs were seen in the vicinity of Baghdad airport.

“The attack continues as we speak and has already moved the distance of the longest maneuver of the 1991 Gulf War in a quarter of the time,” said Brooks.

US-led forces had taken 1,000-2,000 Iraqi prisoners of war in the opening days of their drive north to Baghdad. Many more had simply returned to their families.

The whereabouts of Saddam, whom President Bush has vowed to drive from power, remained a mystery.

US Marines were locked in fighting in the southern port of Umm Qasr, despite earlier reports that the town had fallen, a Marines officer said. “The city is under control, but there are various organized groups offering resistance on the outskirts,” Lieutenant Colonel Steve Holmes said.

The ground assault followed the launch of the US “shock and awe” campaign against Saddam’s regime late Friday, which saw hundreds of bombs and missiles dropped on Baghdad and other key cities.

The ferocious onslaught left Saddam’s Republican palace, symbol of his iron grip on the country since 1979, in flames. One Iraqi man, who gave his name as Tashin, described the high-tech onslaught: “We saw a missile come in from the right, stop in mid-air, rotate 180 degrees and then slam into a building. A few minutes later we saw one come from the other direction and do the same thing.”

Here in Baghdad, Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf said the Iraqi military had inflicted “heavy losses” on US and British troops while repelling attacks in southern Iraq.

President Bush vowed in his weekly radio address that the allies would emerge victorious, but warned the war could last longer than expected, amid reports that four US troops had been killed in action in southern Iraq, raising total allied losses to 25.

“A campaign on harsh terrain in a vast country could be longer and more difficult than some have predicted,” Bush said.

Washington abandoned its bid to deploy ground forces into northern Iraq through Turkey, a Pentagon official said, ordering the Army’s 4th Infantry Division to the Gulf.

The United States widened its war yesterday with a massive missile blitz on two Islamist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan alleged to have links to Al-Qaeda, killing at least 50 people.

Mustafa Sayed Khader, a top military leader of the pro-US Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the US attack on Ansar Al-Islam (Supporters of Islam) in the early hours of the day included a two-hour bombardment by some 50 cruise missiles.

Turkish troops were reported to have entered the Kurdish-held north of Iraq, defying US insistence that such a deployment would be “unhelpful,” but this was denied by Ankara.

British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said he was aware of an incursion by Turkish troops, but downplayed the incident, saying: “The size of that force is consistent with a border policing operation.”

Meanwhile, the Anglo-American forces continued to be plagued by helicopter accidents, as two British choppers collided over the Gulf, killing all seven men aboard and bringing to 19 the death toll from such accidents in two days.

With international opposition to the war showing little sign of abating, public anger spilled onto the streets of world cities for a third successive day. Hundreds of thousands massed in front of US embassies and in city centers, with major anti-war demonstrations planned in the United States.