Around 100 armoured vehicles have stormed into the capital, supported by planes, in what's being called a "show of force" by the US military.

But they're stressing that even though this attack's bigger and more important, it is not necessarily the "battle for Baghdad".

Palace

A BBC journalist there said he could see the tanks and thick black smoke from where he was, right "in the very heart of Baghdad".

The city was bombed overnight, but the heaviest attacks started at dawn.

The Red Cross who are working there say they are finding it hard to cope and keep a count of all the injured who are arriving for treatment.

Other main points:

• Three British soldiers have died during the attacks on Basra
• Iraqi state TV has quoted Saddam Hussein as saying anyone who destroys a coalition tank, armoured vehicle or artillery will get an $8,000 (£5,000) reward
• US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair are meeting to talk about how the war's going, in Northern Ireland on Monday
• UK forces say they have secured "large parts" of Iraq's second city, Basra, after entering the city early on Sunday
• Kurdish fighters and US forces are getting closer to the two main Iraqi cities in the north - Mosul and Kirkuk - where a "friendly-fire" incident on Sunday killed 15 people and injured 45.