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Saddam Hussein has responded personally to air attacks by the United States and Britain with a defiant "no compromise" message.

Watch part of Saddam Hussein's broadcast (variable picture quality)

In a televised speech on Thursday afternoon, he said: "We are not going to fear. Iraq will gain the victory. This is what they deserve.

"The curse is on those that are co-operating with Satan. Glory to our heros who give their lives for the cause."

"God wanted Iraq to be in the forefront of humanity against injustice, the seat of humanity against the evil of the American and Zionist satans and their allies, to be the light of the Arab nation."

Rageh Omaar: Saddam rejects all calls for compliance

And in a direct jibe at President Clinton, following his turbulent visit to the Middle East last week, the Iraqi president said: "Long live Palestine."

His speech followed the announcement from Washington of a third wave of air attacks to be carried out on Friday.

The announcement came shortly after Britain said the air strikes would continue until Saddam Hussein's ability to build and use weapons of mass destruction has been "sufficiently damaged".

RAF footage of air strikes, as seen from Tornado bombers

"There is so much more to do," said Defence Secretary George Robertson, in a briefing in London.

A US official declined to say how long President Clinton was prepared to continue the air campaign, brushing aside speculation that the Muslim religious observance of Ramadan, which begins this weekend, would force an end to the effort.

An RAF target, seconds from destruction

Thursday night's strikes undertaken by 12 RAF Tornados were aimed at sites outside Baghdad.

Mr Robertson said they had successfully hit air defence sites, command and control networks and infrastructure of the Republican Guard.

Journalists were shown video clips of the Tornados successfully completing their missions.

An Iraqi surface-to-air missile site was seen destroyed in the first black and white clip.

A second showed the destruction of a radio mast housing fibre optic cables.

The third showed the obliteration of what was described as a "hardened aircraft shelter".

Jeremy Cooke in Baghdad: Another night of bombings

Mr Robertson also said an airfield south-west of Baghdad had been targeted, where Saddam Hussein was developing remotely-operated aircraft with which to deliver chemical and biological weapons against his neighbours.

"Saddam's ability to make and use chemical and nerve weapons is being reduced with every day and with every raid on his military structures," Mr Robertson added.

The raids, along with the US, would continue until such times as Sadam Hussein's military machine had been "sufficiently damaged".

The Iraqi Government remains defiant after the second wave of strikes by US and British forces on Baghdad and across the country.

"The US military aggression has been a real failure," said the Iraqi daily newspaper Babel, owned by President Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday.

Another newspaper, Al-Iraq, called for a cessation of "all cooperation" UN Special Commission (Unscom) weapons inspection team who it referred to as "a commission of spies". It also called for the Unscom Chairman Richard Butler "to be brought to justice as a criminal and a spy".

Jeremy Cooke: Iraqis are going about their normal lives

The BBC's Corrrespondent in Baghdad, Jeremy Cooke said that as many Iraqis attended Friday prayers at the city's mosques, there was a sense of "fatality" amongst the people but no sign of the Iraqi Government backing down.

Iraq is preparing for a likely third night of bombings and missile strikes. Both sides have been assessing the impact of the attacks so far.

The Iraqi Ministry of Information says that American planes have been dropping leaflets across the south of the country urging people to rise up against the government.

Hospital damaged

The Iraqi authorities have said at least 25 people have been killed in Baghdad. There are no figures yet available for the rest of the country.

On Thursday night there was an intense bombardment of targets close to the centre of the capital, where ministries and other government departments are concentrated. One hospital suffered blast damage, with many windows blown out.

The Iraqi Minister of Health, who was at the hospital, told the BBC that the city's hospitals, which suffer severe shortages after years of sanctions, were finding it hard to cope with the casualties.

Most of the remaining UN humanitarian workers in Baghdad have now left the Iraqi capital for safety abroad. Their compound in the city is very close to the security police headquarters, one of the main targets for US and British raids.

Opinion split

Russia has announced the withdrawal of its ambassadors from Washington and London for consultations, while its Defence Minister, Igor Sergeyev, said he would not attend today's NATO meeting in Brussels as scheduled.

However the Foreign Office in London has said that both Britain and Russia have stressed the importance of keeping channels of communication open.

China, India and Pakistan have also criticised the attacks. Beijing denounced had denounced the attacks as "a dangerous and odious precedent."

But several countries have made a point of supporting the attacks, among them Japan, and a number of EU members.

Two polls undertaken by the BBC have highlighted a global difference of opinion over the air strikes.

BBC News Online's Talking Point, responded to by e-mails from around the world, showed 59% of users against the military action.