U.S. Planes Land At Baghdad Airport

The first U.S. military planes landed at Baghdad's international airport Sunday night.

Army officials said two C-130s and a C-117 cargo plane were flying into the Iraqi capital under the cover of darkness, as bombs continued to mingle with the Muslim calls to prayer around sunset.

U.S. forces told CNN they control the roads going in and coming out of Baghdad, after two days of armored forays and sporadic firefights.

U.S. troops took control of Saddam International Airport last week and renamed it Baghdad International Airport.

Latest Saddam Statement Read On Iraqi TV

Meahwhile, Iraqi TV read a statement Sunday issued in the name of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein that continued to bring the question of what condition the leader is in to the forefront.

"In the name of God the most compassionate, peace be upon you," the statement read. "Link up with any other unit counted as such until further notice."

The statement, read on TV and radio, suggests disarray among the country's elite fighters.

The statement attributed to Saddam also says anyone who destroys an allied tank, armored personnel carrier or artillery would be awarded 15 million dinars, or about $8,000.

Iraqi satellite television showed brief footage of a smiling Saddam in military uniform chairing a meeting it said was held Sunday with his top aides. More Detals

British Forces Barrel Into Basra

British troops have rumbled into Basra Sunday with a column of 40 armored personnel carriers.

It was their biggest incursion yet into Iraq's second-largest city.

The spokesman for British forces in the Persian Gulf said it appears that the leaders of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party are fleeing the city. According to British press pool reports, commanders said the bulk of Iraqi forces may have fled Basra a full 48 hours before the latest incursion.

British officials say they have managed to set up base at a former college inside Basra's city limits, but do not yet control the city. The Defense Ministry says three of its soldiers were killed, bringing the total number of Britons killed since the start of war to 30. More Details

Russian Convoy Caught In Crossfire?

U.S. Central Command said Sunday that no coalition forces were operating in the area where a Russian convoy was attacked as it was leaving Baghdad for Syria.

About two dozen people were in the convoy, including diplomats and journalists. The Russian Foreign Ministry said up to five people were hurt, but the injuries are not life-threatening.

Officials in Moscow did not say who they believe fired on the convoy.

A Russian journalist said the convoy was caught in a crossfire after passing Iraqi positions on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Alexander Minakov, of Rossiya, was in the convoy. He said they were passing Iraqi positions when the Iraqis came under heavy fire from coalition troops. The Iraqis fired back, and the convoy was caught in the crossfire.

Minakov says three diplomats were wounded, one seriously. He said Iraqi doctors removed two bullets from one of those wounded, and that the bullets came from an M-16.

The U.S. military said it was aware of the Russian convoy's trip and doesn't know who shot at it, although the shooting is believed to have happened in Iraqi-controlled territory.

Rice In Moscow

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is in Moscow for talks on deepening United States-Russian cooperation, despite their differences over Iraq.

Rice is scheduled to meet with a number of top Russian officials before heading home Monday.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman said the United States is committed to its long-term strategic partnership with Russia. However, the spokesman said differences over Iraq have strained relations between the two countries.

Russia opposes the United States-led war in Iraq.

NBC Anchor-Reporter Dies In Iraq

NBC anchor David Bloom has died while covering the war with Iraq.

NBC announced his death Sunday morning at the start of its "Today" program.

NBC says Bloom, 39, suffered a pulmonary embolism while embedded with United States forces. His death was not combat related. More Details

BBC Reports Friendly Fire Bombing

An American warplane bombed a convoy carrying U.S. Special Forces and Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing several people, according to a BBC reporter with the troops.

Correspondent John Simpson said he counted at least 10 bodies amid the burning wreckage. He said it was "just a scene from hell." Simpson was wounded in the attack.

A Pentagon duty officer, Master Sgt. Grant Windsor, initially appeared to confirm the incident and read a statement from U.S. Central Command that said three Americans were killed and five others wounded in the bombing.

Central Command in Qatar questioned the report, and it was subsequently learned that Windsor had been referring to a Central Command statement about a separate incident on April 3.

'Chemical Ali' Believed To Be Dead

U.S, officials said they do not know the fate of the Iraqi general known as "Chemical Ali," but they said his bodyguard was killed in an airstrike Saturday.

Coalition warplanes bombed Ali Hassan al-Majid's villa near Basra. An official in Washington who wished to remain anonymous said it is believed the general was home at the time.

Al-Majid is Saddam Hussein's cousin and a member of his inner circle who has been associated with some of the regime's most brutal episodes.

He boasted of ordering a poison gas attack that killed thousands of Kurds in 1988.

U.S. Troops Muscle Through Baghdad

There was more machine-gun fire and explosions in central Baghdad Sunday, along with the shriek of surface-to-surface rockets.

The explosions and gunfire were heard downtown, not far from the information ministry and a hotel where many journalists were staying.

Burnt-out Iraqi tanks litter one of the main roads in Baghdad, one day after American troops muscled through the city.

The streets were reported deserted Sunday night, but earlier they had been crawling with black-clad Fedayeen militia and teenagers with guns.

Regime leaders remained defiant and appealed for calm.

Some Iraqi troops clambered up what they claimed was an allied tank destroyed in a Sunday morning battle. They flashed "V" for victory signs and chanted slogans in support of President Saddam Hussein.

Iraqi leaders deny they have taken heavy casualties. Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf warned Baghdad residents against "rumors" and "lies."