Jeremy Cooke reports

"The Iraqi people will confront and resist this military aggression. The United States and Britiain will eventually fail in their objectives and the Iraqi people will win," said one passer-by.

The BBC Correspondent Jeremy Cooke in Baghdad reported that citizens were taking cars and buses to work in the morning, almost as if nothing had happened.

Saddam urges defiance

Injuries apparently include burns and shock

The peoples' comments followed President Saddam Hussein's appeal for resistance in the face of US attacks.

He accused the "defeated evil ones" of cowardice for using long-range missiles instead of fighting face-to-face.

"Our great people and our brave armed forces ... resist and fight them. Fight the enemies of God, the (Arab) nation and humanity," the president he said in a statement carried on Iraqi media.

Saddam Hussein urges Iraqis to fight "enemies of God" (in Arabic)

"God will make you victorious while they will gain nothing but shame," he said.

Six hours of bombardment

The Iraqi capital, Baghdad, endured almost six hours of nighttime bombardment from air attacks by United States forces.

Relatives comfort a wounded Iraqi

Doctors at one Baghdad hospital reported five people killed and 30 others wounded, many suffering from burns and shrapnel injuries.

Iraqi onlooker: "The Iraqi people will confront and resist"

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it could not confirm the casualty figures. The organisation's Baghdad-based relief experts were said to be evaluating civilian medical needs in the wake of the air strikes.

'Nothing like 1991'

BBC Correspondent Jeremy Cooke describes the situation on the ground in Baghdad

Anti-aircraft fire was first heard in the Iraqi capital Baghdad at 2149GMT, following an air raid siren half an hour earlier.

Damage apparently caused by a missile in Baghdad

The BBC Correspondent Jeremy Cooke in Baghdad said a series of deafening explosions echoed around the Iraqi capital, shaking the foundations of buildings well away from blast areas.

Volleys of missiles landed near the centre of the city, one reported to have damaged civilian property.

Ministry of Culture and Information officials told reporters they had visited the site and seen a large crater in a street. They said it had caused damage to a drinking water network.

Middle East Analyst Zuhair Diab: "Shocked and surprised"

The Iraqis retaliated with a barrage of anti-aircraft fire from the roofs of buildings which lit up the night sky.

One government employee in Baghdad said that it was nothing like the strikes during the Gulf War.

"In 1991 the sky was red," he said.